Bebop Blues
by RedTailedSongbird
Summary: Post Series: Spike's been dead a year. Faye and Jet have kept the Bebop afloat, and a mysterious woman ties everything together. The Syndicate has deeper secrets than anyone could have assumed. Spike/Faye and a few surprises
1. 1: Adieu

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 1: Adieu**

Darkness.

That's all he could detect.

A few minutes of intense focus, his eyes screwed shut (or he assumed they were; no room could be this dark without closed vision), and he could maybe detect a sound or two.

Or maybe he really was dead.

He pulled his eyelids open with as much focus as he could. Funny. He never thought eyelids could hurt.

As he attempted this, he knew for sure there was sound beyond his blind prison.

The room was a blur. A dark one at that, but the sound seemed crisper now that he fully realized he was indeed alive.

Everything hurt.

Everything.

He supposed that was a sign of living.

The sound was a song. A soft bluesy tone; he wasn't sure he knew the song.

Or the singer.

He attempted to call out as he blinked rapidly. Whatever captor or caretaker that was nearby should know he was awake.

Did he even care?

His want of human company seemed primal, as though he'd been gone from this world quite a long time.

The humming faded in and out, accompanied by footsteps.

He assumed them to be footsteps, anyway.

A light clang or two.

And a scent.

It wafted to him and his mouth watered.

Or, he was sure it would have if he had the water in his system to even draw saliva from his mouth.

His call came out a sputtered cough.

_'Real macho, Spike.'_

He was sure the hum was of woman.

It was too soft to be a male's voice, but the key and pitch were perfect, if melancholy.

He recognized the tune now. It was Earth. Surely he was losing his grip on whatever sanity he thought he had, because Earth wasn't a song, but screw it. That's what he felt.

The humming had stopped.

"So it lives," the voice sang.

Sang, because a voice like that was far too warm to just speak. It was definitely a woman, a deep-voiced woman who's voice reminded him of earth and warmth and heat and comfort; she spoke with her soul.

But there was a pinch of enigmatic heartbreak.

Or maybe that was his hearing.

He attempted to speak again, but more sputtering was all that could be heard.

"You'll do best to watch yourself. A year-long coma does a lot to your finer details."

He still couldn't see, and that irritated him. He heard the woman shuffle, and soon he felt two hands propping his back against what he felt to be a sofa arm. Something cold pressed to his lips.

"Drink."

He complied as best he could, but he found her words to be far too true. His inner workings were still slumbering, despite his outer workings being in such intense pain.

After what felt to be an ocean run down his throat, he paused for breath.

"Glass isn't even half empty."

"You seem more like a half-full type of woman."

His first words back from the dead: a witty half-comeback half-pickup line. _'Still got it.'_

She raised an eyebrow. He could see now. He'd never take water for granted again. He was expecting more of a reaction than an eyebrow, but perhaps it was difficult to take a remark like that seriously from a waking dead man.

"Funny," she commented flatly, no longer singing.

He could feel his ego deflate.

The smell reached his nose again, and his mouth watered in response. Really watered. Hungered.

"I suppose you'll be in want of food, then," she sang.

What an interesting tone.

"Food?" he questioned dumbly.

She rose from the coffee table she had been sitting upon and stalked to the kitchen. She was much shorter than he envisioned. Her voice made her seem tall and leggy, curvy and velvet, some Goddess of earth before earth had ever been.

This woman was short, albeit still quite curvaceous. Her black hair was long with a softness of darkness to it, and her bright brown eyes seemed to flicker with her change in voice. She swayed with some soundless melody, and her lips curved into silent smiles from thoughts he did not have privy to. She was young, no older than him to be sure, and probably the same age. As she stalked to the kitchen, or he assumed it to be the kitchen, he noticed something strange.

He had no clue who she was.

But she seemed intensely familiar.

He supposed if she had been caring for him for a year, though, that she would naturally seem familiar.

She returned momentarily, a bowl of loaded mashed potatoes in one hand and a spoon in the other.

She stumbled a bit as she crossed the threshold from the tiled kitchen to the carpeted living room.

"My apologies. I'm much less coordinated than I look."

She handed him the bowl and spoon. He attempted to sit further up, but failed, wincing at the intense effort. He finally realized he was covered in bandages, almost neck to toe, save for some convenient spots to release himself and wriggle his finer extremities. His fingers shook as he took the spoon, and his hand almost gave way with the weight of the bowl.

Fuck it hurt to live.

The woman chose to ignore his embarrassment and spoke. "If that doesn't send your stomach reeling, you're welcome to some meatloaf, too."

Ah. That's what that heavenly scent was.

He nodded and attempted to say thanks before coughing.

"Take it easy there, Spike. You've been out for a year. Your stomach's the size of a baseball, and your throat is still dry and broken."

He stopped.

She remained stoic, staring him right in his eyes, his different eyes.

"Cybernetic."

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

She smiled sweetly, but with a cryptic air. "Mai."

"That didn't answer my question."

"You're finally alive and the first things you want to do are hit on me, eat, and question my hospitality? Just like a man."

There was no malice or irritation in her voice, just amusement.

"Well, all things considered, you seem to know a hell of a lot more about me than the reverse."

His voice was still scratched and weak.

"Spike Spiegel, age 28, last survivor of the Red Dragon Syndicate, ex-bounty hunter, favors the Jericho, and loves his mono-racer more than any sane man should." She closed we eyes as if in a trance. "You're not far from home here."

Cryptic still.

But she seemed so familiar.

Consciously familiar.

"Well? Are you well enough for meatloaf?"

"Depends. Is it poisoned?"

She laughed. It was warm, like her, inviting, infectious.

"Believe me, should there have been a want of me to kill you, I would have done it on those church steps a year ago, or poisoned you in your sleep, not waited until your conscious hours to leave you questioning whatever death you should have had."

He sobered, but smiled. As much as he could, at least.

"Fair enough."

She arose from the table to return to the kitchen, reappearing moments later with a bowl of meatloaf.

_'Beef. I go and die and end up with a first meal of beef. The hell did I go wrong in life with Jet?'_

hat sank in.

Jet.

The Bebop.

The shrew.

Funny how you forget the physical life when you've been in a dream for so long.

"Is it real?" she asked.

He snapped back.

"Excuse me?"

"Is it real? The dream?"

A woman after his own soul, if those existed.

He chuckled. "When you've died as much as I have, nothing's real. The dream is never ending for me, it seems."

She was solemnly silent, but she spoke after a moment. "Sometimes you're ready to open that door, but the timing's not quite right."

Yeah. Cryptic. He kinda' liked her, but she knew too much.

It bothered him.

The rest of the evening was silent, save for the run of water for the dishes, and later, for her shower. He wondered if he should try to do the same, but his legs were too weak. He took to attempting stretches.

Sometime in the late evening, she entered the living room again, her long tresses damp and her skin smelling of lavender. A tank top adorned her busty torso, and a tiny pair of shorts covered her pleasing hips. She had something in her mouth, and smoke rose from it.

He almost asked to bum one off her, but decided he'd at least go the rest of the night without further inhibiting his recovery.

She glided to the kitchen, this time without tripping, and returned with a glass of water and a handful of pills.

"Here. I suspect you're quite capable of masking and hiding it, but I know that you're body is screaming." She handed him the painkillers, placed the water on the table and returned to her room, peering over her shoulder briefly to bid him good night.

He opted for pain.

He hadn't felt alive in a very long time.

She seemed so incredibly familiar.

He dreamed. Really dreamed. Of Julia. Of Vicious. Of Annie. Of Mao. Jet and the Bebop. Edward and Ein. And Faye.

He saw Julia fall in slow motion, each second draining life from her, but as she fell into his arms, the strange woman took her place. Or maybe it was Annie. Or Mao.

That was it.

He awoke with a start, cursing quietly as he gripped his side in agony. Too much pain.

He had been having this dream for a month since he had awoken in this dark empty house on this leather couch he now called his bed.

Every time he awoke, the dream was as fleeting as it was enlightening.

She seemed so damn familiar.

The digital clock on the wall near the front door informed it was 2:23 AM, and that dead men should be sleeping.

The front door creaked open, and Spike feigned slumber.

She walked in, huffing a bit, a com pressed to her ear. "Some lead. You almost got me killed."

He couldn't hear the other voice. She and her com were too far away.

"Yeah, I know he's the big name bounty, and I'm sure I could catch him without a hitch, but I told you I'm not interested in Syndicate hunting. Too risky. Not worth it."

That seemed to be about something different.

"I'll talk the lead over with you tomorrow."

She walked into the living room, hanging her leather coat on the hook under the clock.

He needed to know more. His body was better, and this sounded like trouble.

He was itching for trouble.

"Before you inquire, I'm a hunter, not a cop."

He opened his eyes. "Well, if you'd be willing to take this mangled thing as your partner, I'd be much obliged."

"You need to lay low a few more months; your head is still too pricey."

He was suddenly tired of secrets.

He'd been conscious a month and had learned nothing new. They never spoke much beyond his first day awake apart from social requirements regarding food and showers.

"Besides, you're still not strong enough to fight, swimming bird."

Over the edge.

He was in her face in a matter of seconds. She didn't move, her strange cigarette hanging from the edge of her lip precariously.

But he sobered quickly.

"Let me bum one."

She chuckled. "I don't deal in cancer sticks."

He looked at her quizzically.

She handed him one of her cigarettes from her jacket pocket, retrieving it slowly from the hooked garment as if to help him understand her words.

"But you smoke them all the time."

"No. I don't deal in cancer sticks."

She leant him her lighter. As he lit up and inhaled, he finally caught her drift. "So, tell me, hippie hunter, who are you?"

"Name's Mai."

"I remember."

She walked to her room, gliding and somber. She stood in the doorway but a moment. "Mai Yenrai."

And as the door shut behind her, Spike's joint dropped to the floor.

They were silent after that. Another month passed, and Spike was mostly mobile. His fighting skills were slowly returning, but he was upset to find his limbs in lesser shape than they should have been. One too many deaths, he concluded. Mai revealed bits and pieces here and there. "You were always my father's favorite," she mused over Vodka. Spike talked about his many deaths; she talked about her many lives. Three bottles, mostly consumed by Spike, and the two were numb to the pains of living.

She was a lightweight. He carried her to her bed after that drinking session. That's when he really noticed things. Her wedding ring, the king-sized bed too large for her, the sleeping shirt several sizes too large.

He supposed she had a story, too.

They were relatively cordial, but she was around a lot less after that night. More bounties, it seemed. Sometimes she was gone for days, but she always had fresh groceries and liquor and cannabis cigarettes about; she explicitly told Spike no Nicotine or cancer sticks. She advocated against the things quite strongly.

Another month, and Spike was a year and quarter dead to the world. He was getting antsy, but after Mai revealed a 50 Million Woolong bounty on his head, he decided it wasn't worth his trouble.

He was sleeping soundly that night, but something quiet woke him. The bathroom light was on. She had been gone for two weeks this time.

He heard her cursing, and he could feel her wince through the door.

Caring not for propriety and social protocol, he opened the door slowly.

She was stitching herself together. She was sitting on the counter, her back against the mirror, her bloodied shirt rolled up over her breasts. She held her abdomen taut as her other hand, shaking and tired, stitched an eleven inch vertical gash over her left rib cage.

She hadn't noticed him.

He walked in, and, using the toilet as his seat, took the needle from her trembling fingers. Silently, he stitched her wound as she looked away, a slight blush over her face.

"You've got blood left to blush? I never put you for the modest type."

She said nothing, but continued to look away.

"There. All done. Not too bad, actually."

"I can take care of myself." It sounded more like she was reassuring herself more than making a statement.

"Well, I slept on your couch for a year; the least I can do is patch you up."

He left, and as he sat on what was slowly becoming his permanent bed, he could hear a faint "thank you," from the bathroom.

He smirked to himself, "The least I can do for an old friend."

The next morning was quiet. Mai cooked eggs and bacon, prodding at her plate more than eating, and downing painkillers like candy.

"You don't owe me," she said.

"Huh?"

"Just because of dad. Or saving you. Or whatever."

She was... different.

He changed tactics. "Who was he?"

She feigned stupidity and looked at him blankly.

"That ring. Who is he?" he asked again, altering the question in an attempt to get a different reaction.

"A memory, almost." She seemed lost.

Cryptic again.

"I'm heading out today. A big bounty just came in. Might be a chase."

He could swear she was saying good-bye.

"I've left this place to you in my absence. Not sure when I'll be back. There's ammo and guns under the sink." She walked to the TV stand, pulling a lockbox from under it, "and I believe these are yours."

The Jericho. And the ignition key to the Swordfish.

He was walking down memory lane.

"So, you're running, huh?"

She chuckled; it seemed hollow, but hopeful. "This wound wasn't from any run-of-the-mill bounty, and he's out for me. I rather not stick around. I'll come back when the smoke clears."

She would leave with nothing but her Glock, shades, and unbearable burden. "And Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"His name is Roy."


	2. 2: Don't Bother None

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 2: Don't Bother None**

Smoke.

Thick like paste, sticking to the walls and billowing in clouds murkier than was necessary.

Everywhere, smoke.

She sighed.

Granted, her sigh was more out of habit than annoyance. One year of this and she was entirely comfortable in this surrounding. The dim bar was packed with thugs, bandits, dealers, prostitutes and every dark shade of humanity in between, but the suited man in the center of the bar was who she had her eye on.

Other men had taken an eye to her, however, and she gripped her Glock for comfort.

A year ago, she would have been dead meat walking into a seedy place like this, but Faye Valentine was no longer prey.

She'd become quite the predator in the lunkhead's absence.

She had to, really; Jet was older than he let on, and without Ed and the pooch, his job of intel had gotten much more difficult. It was left up to her to be the muscle.

She downed the rest of her whiskey.

That was plenty for the night; she had a job to do after all.

She sauntered over to the suited man, her boots clacking and sticking slightly to the grungy wooden floor. She wore more these days; she knew better now than to provoke anything in her line of work. Tight leather jeans and a maroon V-Neck tank was all she needed to garner attention, though, and as heads turned, her grip on her gun tightened.

She'd never been so careful.

But for once, she felt she had something to lose, and when you have something to lose, your mortality tends to come to your forefront, and common sense becomes your best friend.

She had a place to belong now.

She and Jet had developed a new sense of camaraderie, a true partnership. He watched over her like a father, and she kept him on his toes like the teenage daughter she used to be. She couldn't let him down; he had done for too much for her this past year and the some odd months before it.

When lunkhead was around.

She took a seat at the table, crossing her legs languidly, the leather pulling taut.

The dapper man didn't move, but a man behind her licked his lips loudly.

She ignored the brute and turned her attention to suit.

"What's your game?"

The suited man looked up from his drink, his fingers crossed underneath his chin. His eyes seemed worn. "Excuse me, miss?"

He had a thick accent she couldn't place, and his black hair shined in the dimmest of light.

"You seem like the "wealth and means" type. So what's your game?" She then motioned to the rest of the bar, her arm sweeping across to draw attention to her bosom. "There are sinners and saints all over this place; so tell me. Which one are you?"

The man was Paul Donahue, wanted for illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and, what was more and what really earned him his 10 million Woolong bounty, human trafficking: girls of all ages for prostitution and brothels. Like in the old days, he often got them addicted to the drug of choice and forced them into work. The Red-Eyed Don Juan, they called him.

He smirked.

"Miss, I don't delve in such... Carnal, indulgences." He tipped his hat. "I'm a man of propriety."

"As true as that is-"

But she never finished her sentence. The whistling and catcalls of men drowned her out as some other female entered the bar.

Paul looked up. "Ah, my dear huntress, I apologize for cutting this short, but I have business to attend to." With that, he rose from his chair, took his coat, and walked to the empty barstool next to the raven that just walked in.

Curious, Faye eyed her closely. Paul saw right through her, so there was no sense in pushing the hunt further, but the arrival of this other female was not in her intel from Jet. From their sources, Paul used this bar as his regular spot to obtain new clients, not products or partners.

She decided to slip in unnoticed at the dark end of the bar; a burly man, half-conscious made a suitable wall to keep her out of Paul's vision, and with the new earpiece she managed to purchase a few bounties ago, she could hear the conversation clear as day.

"Miss Dragon, when will you take me up on my offer," Paul asked, his voice with urgency and hopeful brightness.

The woman scoffed. "I don't deal with fiends like you, Donahue; you best remember that." Faye could hear her take a swig of her drink.

"But Miss, we could both benefit from this exchange, surely a daughter of the S-"

But he never finished his sentence.

The bar went silent. A few regular patrons continued on as though nothing was out of the ordinary; apparently this exchange was common.

From a cranny between the burly man's arm and side, Faye could see a gun pressed to Paul's temple, the woman the obvious gunner.

"You will address me properly, snake." She used her free hand to lift her drink, vodka, from what Faye could tell, and sipped slowly.

Beads of sweat trickled down Paul's forehead. "Miss Dragon..."

"What's your price tonight, Donahue? Big Shots has you listed at 10 Million as of this morning. Says you killed Jane Black. A cop. That right?"

The bar went quieter still, if such a thing were even possible.

Apparently, this was Miss Dragon's territory.

"You see-"

The gun cocked. Faye could determine it to be a Glock. A woman after her own heart, if she even had one left.

Paul gulped.

"Dead or alive, isn't that right? They never take kindly to cop killers."

The bartender was the only one who seemed unfazed. Faye stared in wide-eyed wonder. This woman was something else.

Paul stuttered something inaudible, and the woman pushed the gun further into his temple. "M-M-"

"Not so hot now, are we, Donahue?"

Faye shivered. Miss Dragon had a chilling voice to match her name.

"Miss-"

"No. You hear me. Now that I know who you are, what you do, and who you kill, you can damn well bet I won't take kindly to your filthy scum presence in my vicinity."

She pulled the trigger.

"Bang."

Patrons scrambled to leave the scene as Paul fell over the barstool to his right.

Faye didn't budge, though the burly man harrumphed and left with the crowd.

The bartender continued wiping his glasses.

Silence again.

As Miss Dragon picked up the trembling body of Paul Donahue, piss-stained and crying, Faye realized the gun had been empty.

"I'll be damned," she said aloud.

Miss Dragon looked up at her. "You speak too loudly with your body language, Miss Huntress," she told Faye, bowing her head at her. She cuffed the trembling hands of Paul and yanked him to a standing position.

The woman was much shorter than Faye imagined. Her attitude and confidence was befitting tall, leggy Amazons, but the petite, curvy woman before her seemed much more the firecracker: big boom in a little package. She threw her long hair over her shoulder, her brown eyes softening with each passing second.

As she began to take her leave, tossing a large bill to the bartender, she turned to Faye a final time. "Until we meet again, Space Cowgirl," and with a wink, she turned on her heel and left.

"Faye! I thought this was simple!" Jet yelled as she explained the situation over the Red Tail's vidcom.

"I told you, Jet! He sniffed me out the second I approached him! And that woman had some sort of background with him!"

She was exasperated. She didn't understand his urgency. They had a decent amount saved up from the last two jobs, and bounties were getting harder and harder to come by, but he was chump change compared to some of their bigger hauls.

It was strange that they were all flocking to Mars recently, though. She supposed they were all vying for "New Syndicate" status; the whole thing left an awful taste in her mouth.

It explained why Big Shots was back, at least, although catching bounties was easier when they weren't being advertised to the world.

"Faye, how can a bounty hunter have any connection to Paul Donahue aside from hunting him?"

"He kept calling her Miss Dragon, asked if she had thought about his offer. She didn't want to hear it, called him a cop-killer, and took him down with some crazy mind tactic of scaring him shitless."

Jet went silent, and Faye could see his demeanor stiffen.

She wasn't stupid.

"You knew the cop, didn't you?"

He released a defeated chuckle. "Never did want my kid sister following in my footsteps. Not like that."

Ah. So that's what Jet's big issue was: his sister's killer wasn't dealt justice through his hands.

Or his crews'.

Deciding a change of subject to be the best tactic, Faye set course for the Bebop orbiting Mars. "I'll be back soon. Out."

She left Mars, her wallet empty, and Jet's heart heavy.

She knew he'd never let her see him mourn.

A month passed before they took to Mars again. A few renegade hackers here and there scattered from Jupiter and Venus helped recoup some minor debts they accumulated at the casino after the Donahue debacle (though Faye had long quit her gambling addiction and only played cards on blue moon occasions these days). With fresh groceries and a hunger for beef, the two set forth for Mars again, their eyes set on Roger Kane, serial murderer and drug peddler. His price was less than expected at 8 Million Woolong; but with Jet's eternal frugality and with Poker Alice laid to rest, that 8 Million could go a long way.

Jet decided to accompany this time. Kane had a sense of sickness for women, and improved abilities and sense or not, Faye was just far too small a target. The woman was still feather light.

And everything was smooth until they actually found Kane.

"You're a tricky one, ain't ya'?" he said to Faye, pinning her to the alley wall. Jet was behind him, frozen to the spot by unexpected and unaccounted for neurotoxin.

Why did jobs on Mars always end this way?

As Jet winced trying to pull himself forward, Kane let out a crazed laugh. "You're stuck, mate. No way you're getting out of this one, so you'll have to sit back and watch as I have fun with your little girl-"

Jet froze further, as he watched in slow motion a bullet flying over his shoulder and planting itself in Kane's.

"Dammit!" he yelled, gripping his shoulder as blood gushed forth from his newly acquired wound.

Faye hit the ground and swung her leg, toppling Kane to the concrete.

"Who the fuck did this?" he yelled to the end of the alley.

Faye ran to Jet, a syringe in hand or occasions such as this, and as she plunged it into his thigh, he cursed a bit himself.

A figure flew down the alley at intense speed, halting in front of Kane who was now standing.

He lunged at the figure, and with a "heh" she lunged back.

Miss Dragon had held true to her parting words.

As the two fought, Faye and Jet watched in amazement. She moved like water.

Like Spike.

Using her opponent's weight and force against him, she pulled his punch forward, leading him headlong into the wall behind her.

"Run!" she yelled to the two.

They bolted.

And as they reached the street, an explosion sounded from behind them.

Milliseconds masquerading as hours passed before someone stepped forth from the dust and rubble, and Faye's gun was at the ready.

"Cool it, Huntress. Bounty head is dead. No reward to begot here," the woman cooed.

Her voice was warm, and it made Jet and Faye falter a bit. It was much too soft to belong to the firecracker with the liquid moves. Maybe she was more like honey.

"Who are you?" Faye finally asked, eyes wide in awe and mouth slightly agape.

Jet shifted against her, still struggling to regain full muscle control. "Not to be rude, but what my partner means is-"

Miss Dragon walked forward towards Faye while Jet spoke, her final words and parting actions cutting Jet off completely. "Just another cowgirl," and before Faye could react, she winked, leaned up to kiss her cheek, and walked away.

As she threw a hand in the air over her head, waving a good-bye, the bounty-hunting duo stared at the retreating figure in disbelief.

Another ghost.

They didn't speak about that day on Mars. There were too many questions, too many bad vibes, and too many weird ones. They spent the next month picking off chump change near Venus, and with the final 2k Woolong catch, Faye managed to finish repaying her debts.

It was a long time coming, and it took her a year and a quarter to do it, but it was done. She felt a sense of accomplishment she had never encountered before: Poker Alice retired and Faye Valentine was debt-free.

Jet was mildly surprised, too; he hadn't realized she had been working towards paying her debts off like that.

He made bell peppers and beef to celebrate.

"But I want a steak!" she whined as they docked on Mars.

They were always returning, it seemed.

"We're still barely in the clear, Faye. You know that. Big bounties are still hard to come by."

It was playful banter, though. Faye was genuinely happy, and Jet found her positivity infectious.

It took a lot to see her this alive.

They were docking on Mars with two purposes: the next big hunt and a lead on a man they assumed dead.

A lead worth 50 Million Woolong.

"You don't think he's really alive, do you, Jet?"

It was hard to ignore the pained hopefulness in her voice.

She took it hardest when he was presumed dead.

"He would have come back for the Swordfish by now."

She supposed that was a good point.

Plus, he and Jet were genuine friends.

She doubted he would have stayed under the radar with a bounty on his head; he was always itching for a fight.

They docked at Tharsis.

It was raining.

Ominous.

As Faye and Jet parted ways in town to talk up some leads, they determined the bounty they were truly hunting for was currently on the move after a bad run-in with a bounty hunter the night before; it disappointed them.

They decided another night here wouldn't hurt to unwind. Jet wanted to tinker, and Faye wanted to drink.

They hadn't been to Tharsis since the day he died.

As Faye entered the bar, the Golden Triangle, she took note of a 3k thug in the back. She decided to mull over whether or not to capture him over a few drinks.

After drink 7, she decided she was probably too sloshed to do so.

Unfortunately, the thug took note of the amount of alcohol she consumed.

As she got up to leave before trouble started, a hush came over the patrons, and the bartender nodded at the woman walking in.

A ghost returning, Miss Dragon sat next to Faye. "Vodka straight," she called to the bartender, but he was already pouring her drink.

The sight of her sobered Faye quickly.

The sight of Faye brought the thug about.

"Oi, purple, what's your name?"

Faye groaned in disgust at the brute's lack of manners and opened her mouth to respond, but Miss Dragon silenced her with an arm around her waist.

"She's with me, chump, so get lost."

He glared. "And who are you?"

Faye, bemused by the situation, the alcohol to blame, played her part. "I'm with her, and she's with me; you don't listen well, do you?"

His eyes narrowed his eyes into slits. "I asked you both."

"And we both answered," came Miss Dragon's reply.

"Not straight, you didn't."

"How kind of you to notice," Faye quipped.

She heard Miss Dragon chuckle lightly.

"Well-"

And Faye finally realized that Miss Dragon always had a way of silencing people with sheer attitude.

She was growing to like this woman.

"My girlfriend and I are bounty hunters, and they call me Miss Dragon." She smiled, her teeth bright and crisp in the muggy air.

The thug faltered. "Ain't worth your trouble, miss. Just pocket change. No need to cause no problems." He backed up and slowly walked out the door.

The conversations amongst the patrons resumed, and the two women giggled to themselves.

"Well, I gotta' say, I like your style, Miss Dragon," Faye said as they left the bar moments later, both giddy and high-spirited."

"And I like yours, Cosmic Cowgirl."

"You in the business of looking for a crew to join?"

Miss Dragon mulled it over, her eyes to the stars in thought.

"As a matter of fact, I planned on heading out this morning in search of bounties elsewhere, but was sidetracked by a lead. You offering?"

"We could use some extra muscle," Faye mused. "And we play off each other pretty well."

Miss Dragon mused over the idea some more. "I think I'd like that. Much better change of pace than flying solo, and Mars has been running dry lately. You got a ship?"

Faye snorted. "If you can call the clunker a ship. It's an old fishing vessel."

As they rounded the corner to the lake, the Bebop came into view.

"There she is. Of course, it's Jet's, my partner you saw last time. He's captain."

Jet was slowly approaching the two women, his eyes wary and curious.

"Faye, I hope you didn't get into any trouble," he commented dryly.

Looks like tinkering didn't go so well.

"Actually, trouble avoided her," she responded, pointing to Miss Dragon. "I invited her to join the Bebop crew."

He looked mildly upset, but more out of surprise. "Without asking the captain? It's my ship, Faye!"

"Lighten up, old man! We need more muscle around here, she's obviously skilled, and it would be a nice change of pace to have someone else aboard since lunkhead..." she trailed off.

The silence that followed roared in somberness.

Miss Dragon, sensing something heavy between the two, broke the silence. "Well, I can offer something of my own to ease this, if you'd like."

"Oh?" Jet asked, eager for a change in conversation.

As if on cue, a ship ten times the size of the Bebop descended towards the lake. A dome surrounded by wings and a tail, the dome clear and hollow and full of green, the ship looked like a flying oasis.

Jet and Faye blinked at the leviathan ship hovering over their own.

"That would be the Mezzo, a biodome of my own design. It's completely self-sufficient and runs on radiation. The sun and stars are all it needs. The docking bay should hold the Bebop nicely."

Jet's mouth fell agape.

Faye looked pleased. "See, Jet? Muscle."

Jet turned back to face them and crossed his arms. "Name's Jet Black. Welcome to Team Bebop, though it seems Team Mezzo might be fairer."

"I like Bebop."

Jet looked pleased this time.

"And I'm Faye Valentine." She stuck her hand out, her other on her hip.

Miss Dragon grinned. "Ah, Poker Alice in the flesh. I'm honored." She shook Faye's hand, and the three headed down to the dock.

"Well, Miss Dragon, is there anything else you go by?" Faye asked mischievously.

She smirked in response as they boarded to Bebop to load it into the Mezzo's docking bay.

"I go by many names, but Mai is the correct one."

And as they exited the Bebop to venture into the Mezzo's hangar, she spoke once more.

"Mai Spiegel."


	3. 3: Flying Teapot

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 3: Flying Teapot**

In the entire conscious time in Mai's house, Spike had not seen outside the walls once.

Walking the streets of Tharsis in a coat and hat (he had to lay low, after all), he breathed the urban air.

It burned his lungs.

But he felt so alive.

It was odd, actually. He thought he'd feel hollow after being dead a year.

But something Mai had said stuck with him.

"Sometimes you're ready to open that door, but the timing's not quite right."

He repeated it. It became his new mantra: his armor for his new life.

She knew something about the dream he didn't, and he'd be lying if he said she didn't fascinate him.

He was starting to wonder if Julia was just a dream.

His time with her seemed so surreal. Choreographed. Staged. As though she made him feel alive, but not truly living.

He had held that torch for so long, and now that flame was rained out, cold, ash.

He inhaled the cigarette Mai had left, the heady feeling refreshing from the normal rush of nicotine.

He could see why she preferred them.

And they didn't burn his lungs like the urban air did.

She'd been gone a few weeks, maybe a month. He wasn't keeping track. He didn't know if they'd ever cross paths again, but he'd like to think they would.

He loved a woman who could kick his ass.

And no doubt a daughter of the Syndicate was well equipped to do so.

Judging by her belongings, she was one hell of a hunter.

He found a safe in her closet underneath the floorboard.

Three Billion Woolong.

He left it there, taking 200 as a tip: a start-up for his new life.

He was sure she wouldn't have minded; she left him a home, after all. A home, because it was full of food, ammunition, blankets, hot running water, marijuana cigarettes, liquor, and all the other luxuries a house wouldn't have afforded.

He didn't feel obligated to keep up with it, but he did feel obligated to keep it.

He hadn't owned anything in his life, other than his gun, his ship, and his pride. Hell, he hadn't even owned his life. It had always been owned by the syndicate or Vicious or Julia or the crew.

The crew.

He wondered if he should call Jet. He slinked into a nearby bar, a gold pyramid its sign, mulling the thought over as he took a seat.

The bar was pretty empty. Spooked, it seemed. He thought nothing of it and ordered some whiskey.

The bartender eyed him curiously. When he served the drink, he leaned over to whisper to him. "You best watch your back, son. Miss Dragon left a message for you."

Spike blinked at the man before opening his mouth to respond, but his finger brushed over the note beneath his glass. He opened the paper to view the contents, curiosity overtaking him.

_Open tab on me. Lou will keep an eye out for stray syndicate killers. I figured you wouldn't stay cooped up without me there._

_-M_

_Miss Dragon_

He smirked. The woman thought of everything. "Lou."

The bartender turned to face him.

"You seen her around?"

Lou smiled and leaned over the counter again. "She left town a few weeks ago with a pretty thing on her arm. She always did like the ones with attitude."

Spike gave him a confused look, but Lou slipped him another drink. Another note.

_'So, Cowboy, you're gonna' carry that weight. There's no turning back.'_

He paused to smile. _'No turning back then; she's something else.'_

_Whenever you're asked, there's something about blue. Always something. I've got eyes and ears all about town, but by now you know I've up and flown the coop. Us songbirds do that. We don't stay rooted to the ground, just to our hearts. I didn't know if you'd be interested in keeping tabs on me, but I took the liberty of saving your vidcom number. I can't make this easy. I'm being tracked. You may know him. He left me that nasty gash, and I know he's still out for me. He should be, though. But he's actually got us mixed up._

Spike froze. So she was mixed up in his mess, then. She was being hunted for Vicious' death.

_Don't go beating yourself up, swimming bird. You've got a second chance or fourth or ninth. Who's counting?_

_-M_

Cryptic. Did the woman ever speak literally?

"She said you could meet her in Venus for tea."

"She say anything about a magic carpet?" Spike grinned.

"She said you'd ask. Your ship is at the dock."

A chase.

He always loved a chase.


	4. 4: Cosmic Dare Pretty with a Pistol

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 4: Cosmic Dare (Pretty with a Pistol)**

"Spiegel?" Faye finally asked.

They had left Tharsis a few weeks ago. Mai had taken the Bebop back down for some minor renovations before they officially set out from Mars.

Jet was inwardly ecstatic.

Faye was outwardly confused.

And a bit hurt.

"What about it?" Mai asked.

Jet had told Faye not to pry. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," or something like that.

But when she realized the Swordfish was left behind, she got defensive.

"You said you go by many names, so which one is this one?"

"My most recent."

That wasn't good enough.

"Why did you dump the Swordfish?"

Jet spoke up from his new and much larger bonsai room near the back of the dome. "Actually, I want to know that answer, too." He walked towards the two, wiping his hands on his apron.

They were leaning against a gargantuan tree in the center of the dome, the soft grass beneath their legs and bottoms as a cushion of comfort. Faye had her head on Mai's shoulder, her eyes distant and thoughtful.

"My old buddy Doohan plans on picking it up, but he wanted it locked away for the time being."

Chills.

Jet and Faye both.

"I bought a hangar and stowed it until he wants it. Don't know what he'll do without an ignition key, though. He seemed to know a lot more about that ship than he should have."

They remained stoic.

Mai feigned ignorance.

"I think I'll go cook dinner. We'll be near Venus soon," Jet stated flatly. It was apparent that the ice needed breaking.

Faye sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't know exactly why she seemed so drawn to Mai; whether it was because she seemed so much like Spike or because Spike seemed so much like her, but she was hooked.

Bedmates always made for an interesting type of clinging.

Sure, she knew Spike and she were just that: comrades of benefits, but that didn't mean she hadn't ached for it to mean more than a "feel-good lay" every now and then.

She stopped pondering. She was never one to brood.

"Smells decent," Mai commented.

"Huh?"

"Whatever he's cooking."

"Oh. Probably bell peppers and beef."

"Hm." She shifted, and Faye moved her head. Mai rose to her feet and headed towards the large kitchen near the rear of the ship. Faye, having nothing better to do, followed suit.

"Jet, let me have a go."

"I already told you; you provided the ship, the least I can do is cook."

She wasn't taking his excuses today. He had cooked all three meals every day since they set off for Venus.

"Well, I feel like cooking, so I'm making meatloaf. The kitchen is large enough for both of us."

Jet raised an eyebrow and brought a hand to his chin in thought. He never heard a remark like that from her. That was more of a Spike thing: say what the hell you want and do what the hell you want.

And in doing what the hell she wanted, she began to pull out ingredient after ingredient, mixing ground beef with spices and sauces and onions and breadcrumbs before molding it with her hands into a loaf and placing it gently on a baking stone. The oven was piping hot, and with a "harrumph," she placed the loaf in the oven and set the timer to fifteen minutes. So was the luxury of her expensive oven: quick as hell meatloaf.

She lit one of her cigarettes and leaned against the counter, debating on whether or not mashed potatoes were in order.

"Let me bum one." Faye had been aching for a smoke; she quit months ago.

"You sure, doll? I don't deal in cancer sticks."

Jet's cigarette dangled from the edge of his mouth precariously in slight aghast before he swallowed the cancerous concoction in abrupt shock, choking and gagging immediately.

In perfect unison, the two women slapped his back and the offending thing hacked forth from his throat, splattering on the steel countertop.

"Watch it, old man. Don't want you dying before your time."

"Marijuana?"

"It's legal. It's better than tobacco, and it's not addicting."

She handed one to Faye and lit it for her.

Jet remained appalled. "What the hell kind of ship do you run?"

"You tell me, captain," Mai grinned.

Jet put a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Hippies..."

"Love, peace, unity and all that jazz," she sing-songed.

Faye was grinning ear to ear, the cannabis and the hilarity of the captains' dynamic easing her previous anxiety.

"If it ain't home-grown, it ain't kosher," Mai said with a half-smile. "You'll find nothing illegal on this ship, and you'll find nothing that can't be grown by mother earth."

Jet shook his head and threw his hands in the air, resolving to agree to disagree.

Faye, still smiling with her green eyes twinkling, spoke next. "Where are you from, hippie cowgirl?"

Mai grinned as she opened the oven, the meatloaf done and smelling divine. The crews' mouths watered. "I'm from the stars, but if you prefer the literal explanation, as you two seem to prefer-"

"That goes for Jet. From the stars is fine by me."

"My father was born on Mars, my mother on Venus, and I was born in the springtime on Earth."

"A real class act," Faye mused, "from the stars." She was slowly becoming a hippie herself.

Jet shook his head. "Women."

Mai laughed as she cut the meatloaf, serving each of them generously.

The first bite was all it took.

"This is amazing!"

Jet nodded. "I gotta' say, I'm impressed. Good stuff."

Mai smiled, and the dinner continued in happy silence.

They orbited Venus and decided to continue the journey in their respective ships. The Hammerhead and Red Tail had both had overhauls (Jet was quite thrilled to find a vast array of parts and tools aboard the Mezzo), and Mai was anxious to show off her other pride and joy.

The black mono-racer looked much like the Swordfish, though the silver stripe down both sides and the T-Shaped nose made it appear to be a completely different ship. It was definitely a racer, but it was heavily modified for maneuverability rather than speed. Judging by the double plasma cannons and turrets, Jet and Faye were prepared to believe it to be one-of-a-kind, some type of custom ship never encountered. The elongated tail was a shimmering red, and the rudders were sleek and quick.

"Impressive," Jet noted in approval.

"Blues."

"That's the name?"

"Yep. A present from my father."

"That's one hell of a present."

"He was one hell of a father."

Silence.

They may have asked more, but they resigned to leave it be. No looking gift horses in the mouth, after all, and besides, all three of them had pasts that weren't revealed: the heartbroken cop, the frozen fairy, and the orphaned hippie.

As they landed upon Venus' terraformed surface, they were comforted to find some greater semblance of peace that Mars had not afforded them. Before attempting conversation, a few pills from Mai were handed off to prevent embarrassment of helium induced high pitches.

The city was bustling with activity, but was cordial and comforting. Taking space atop a large parking garage, the three set out to follow their lead, a small-time crook that was part of a bigger ring.

They were mostly silent as they took the elevator to down the city streets; all three were lost in thoughts of the hunt.

As they reached the ground and began to walk to a nearby diner, a vidcom rang out.

"Huh? That's not mine," Jet commented.

Mai was looking at her com with her halfway grin. "I gotta take this. I'll catch up in a second."

The duo shrugged at each other and continued walking.

She met up with them at the diner ten minutes later, her face as passive as usual. "I got a good start. Head honcho was just spotted a block away entering the bank."

"That's what that call was about?" Faye asked.

Mai lit up, inhaling slowly. "Well, yes, but he also asked me to keep it to myself. He wasn't entirely thrilled with me keeping company these days."

"You're source sounds selfish," Jet half-laughed.

"He's just quite particular. Naturally he doesn't trust my judgment. I'm more surprised he told me, considering he's hunting the same prey."

"Well, we certainly appreciate it," Faye smirked.

"I can't leave you two hanging. The whole ring is worth 100 Million if we snag 'em together. More than enough to go around, and it's unrealistic to think it to be a one-man job."

They hadn't ordered yet, and all that was had was water, so the trio decided to take their leave before ringleader made himself scarce.

They arrived at the bank just in time.

"A hold-up? Dammit! Now the cops are involved! This bounty is toast!" Faye exclaimed, exasperated.

Mai was peering up, taking in the outer layout of the building. "This is cake." A press to her earring, and the Blues came soaring through the sky.

"What's with you women and remote controls?"

"It's handy when you don't have a partner."

From behind the glass panels of the building, the crew could see the ringleader and his cronies holding various patrons and tellers and bankers hostage. The loudspeaker from the building sounded. "You let us go with our cash, or the whole building goes to pieces!"

Faye grit her teeth.

Jet led the way, and the team ran closer to the building, the Blues hovering above them before vanishing. The whir of the engine could still be heard.

"The hell?"

"One hell of a father," she smirked. "I'll drop in from the top and flush them out. Make sure you get to them before the ISSP does. We're not letting this opportunity go to waste." With that instruction, they heard the Blues land and watched as she climbed the invisible machine and slipped into the cockpit.

Vanished.

"I want that," Faye commented, jealous of the racer.

"Well, I'm usually one for more planning, but she seems to have this covered. Can't say I like it. It seems reckless."

"Like Spike."

He expected her to be sad, but she seemed downright thrilled.

As the cops began to surround the place, they attempted to squeeze closer to the side of the building in the alleyway. The side door was ajar.

"Bingo."

Guns at the ready, they slowly walked in.

Down a narrow hallway, they soon found themselves upon a door completely open. They sunk to the ground; they were now behind the teller counters, hidden from the thugs, but also from any would-be saviors. They hoped Mai wasn't as reckless as Faye romanticized her to be.

"Line up!" the ringleader yelled.

He was Caleb Morrison, wanted for big-time bank robbery, murder, and drug trafficking. His three cronies were useless on their own, but the four made a ridiculous force.

"You! Get back in line!"

Faye and Jet chanced a glance from around the corner of the desk.

A tall, lanky man was causing a ruckus. He was acting nonchalantly enough, his actions seemingly non-deliberate as he tripped one crony and kicked his gun across the floor.

"I am in line," they heard him say.

Faye's eyes went wide, but whatever she was thinking was interrupted by the sound of Mai's voice.

"Checkmate, Morrison," she called from the second floor. It was more of a balcony that ran the length of the room, but it offered a fine stage for her antics.

Jet put a palm to his forehead and whispered with a groan. "Reckless."

"And who are you?"

"Depends."

"That ain't no answer!" Morrison shot, his machine gun on a hair trigger, but Mai had already vanished down the side of the balcony, half the flight of stairs behind her. "Stay still, bitch!"

As she halted at the bottom, she grinned wildly. "Okay."

And no sooner had she spoken when the ceiling came crashing down, Morrison pinned beneath some invisible arm.

The captives had been lined against the opposite wall, clear from the dust and debris. No damage to be done to them.

Jet finally broke. Snapping to a stand, he cursed loudly. "Mai! What the hell? What kind of plan was that? Where's the reward if we have to pay for repairs? Faye and I could have been killed?"

"If I thought for a second you two were in danger, I had another tactic. Faye knows I wouldn't harm her."

But Faye was frantic. She was searching for the lanky lunkhead she swore she heard. She scanned the room, but there was no sign of the coat and hat she saw from before. Did she hear him, or was that just Mai's aura rubbing off on the random patron. She'd have to ask Jet to be sure.

Morrison's cronies had already lined themselves up to be cuffed, Mai's presence wearing them thin. "Miss Dragon, we didn't want any trouble from you, no ma'am."

"I know, that's why you left my turf, but you should no better than to cause trouble. I don't care much for troublemakers."

Jet was groaning as he kicked Morrison's head, knocking him out. He cuffed him, and with perfect timing as usual, the Blues lifted to return to its parking spot.

"Repairs..."

Mai smiled. "I'll take care of it."

"With your portion? That's not enough to cover it."

"You and Faye split this one. I don't normally deal so recklessly, but I can take care of the damage." She pulled out her com dialed with deep intent. "Mayor Hawking? Yes, it's Mai, you know Ma- Oh, of course! I knew you wouldn't forget me! I just had a bad run-in with some thugs at the bank and did quite a number on the ceiling. Of course I've got you covered! You know I had to tell you first! Can't leave the mayor out of the loop with what goes on in his town. I'll make sure Vaughn and the boys take care of everything. Free of charge, no worries, and I'll be sure to tell ISSP the whole spiel. Of course, of course. Yes, dinner is definitely in order; it really has been far too long. I hope Linda and the kids have been well! Yes, I know. I'll call your secretary and schedule dinner, then."

Another phone call, this time to Vaughn, it seemed, and soon a clean-up crew was on the scene.

"If we even get the bounty..."

"We turned them over to the cops, so we get the reward. If they hassle us, I'll just make another phone call."

"You seem to be in with a lot of groups," Jet commented dryly. He found her power to be oddly unnerving.

"One hell of a father," she responded.

She seemed tired.

Faye took the opportunity to yank Jet aside.

"That was Spike."

"Faye, it did sound a lot like him, but-"

"It was Spike. I know it."

"No, Faye, it sounded like Spike."

"He moved like Spike. I'm telling you; that was Spike. I know it."

"What are we whispering about?"

They jumped.

"Actually, I know it's probably none of my business, but I couldn't help but make you jump." Mai grinned.

Such a lunkhead.

It made Faye smile.

"Let's get some dinner. On me," Mai concluded. "I know a great steakhouse nearby."

"Well, lead the way!"

Jet just shook his head. "Women."

Mai turned back briefly to glance down the alley as the three walked away. She winked and whispered. "Not bad, cowboy."

They ate until they were good and stuffed, Mai's generosity taming Jet's foul mood and the cute waiter with wine easing Faye's anxiety over her seeing a ghost. It was close to midnight when they set back out, Jet carrying Faye over his back, and Mai leaning lightly on him for support every few steps; she was a bigger lightweight than Jet would have thought.

"So, what's with you and Faye?" Mai asked.

Jet faltered a bit, jostling Faye. She didn't stir. "We're just partners, but I could ask you the same thing."

Mai's brown eyes glittered mischievously. "I like her. Quite a bit."

"It mean anything?"

Mai shrugged. "I can tell she's straight, but so am I. I like to refer to myself more as "open-minded" to be honest. I'm more in need of..." she paused a moment to choose her words carefully. "...someone who's just as lost as I am."

"Well, if that's what you want, Faye's it. I actually reckon she likes you a bit, but I can't say for the same reasons."

"Spike."

"So you did hear that."

"I'm assuming that's your old partner. She refers to you guys as a crew, but two people hardly qualify as a crew."

"There used to be five of us. Spike and I were first. Then Ein. Faye. And Ed."

Mai gulped. "THE Ed? As in Radical Edward?"

"How can you derive that from just Ed?"

"Process of elimination." Her eyes twinkled again, and he chose not to question it.

"Yes. Radical Edward. Crazy kid, that girl."

"You all seem to have a story; Faye told me you were a cop once."

He chuckled. "Yeah, but the system was crooked."

"So you became a bounty hunter to uphold justice."

"Something like that."

They were nearing the parking lot.

"Well, we're similar in that regard. I was tired of seeing so much crime before my eyes and being unable to stop it. Becoming a bounty hunter was one of the most freeing things in my life."

"When did you start hunting?"

"Nineteen."

He stumbled again. "You were a baby!"

She chuckled. "I wasn't, but in time, you'll learn about that."

"Can't reveal all your secrets, can you?"

She gave her signature half-grin. "Of course not."

They woke Faye when they reached the ships, and she stirred in annoyance. "Can't we get a hotel?"

Mai giggled. "If you set the Red Tail to autopilot, you can ride back with me."

Faye fiddled with her bracelet, and the Red Tail took off. "I can walk, Jet."

He set her down as she walked over to the Blues. "There room enough for you two?"

"Yup," Mai winked.

Jet shook his head and laughed before hopping into the Hammerhead.

Faye sidled in to the small space behind the only seat. It was roomier than the Swordfish to be sure, but not by much. At least Mai was small.

"Don't knock me around."

Mai pulled Faye's arms forward and around her. "Then hold tight."

They took off, and Faye squeezed.

Once they breached the atmosphere, Mai released the breath she's been holding, and Faye loosened her grip.

"Sorry. I prefer a seat belt."

"It's fine; I just failed to mention that nasty gash you no doubt now feel beneath your arm..." Mai winced, but smiled.

Faye felt something warm and sticky. "Shit! I reopened it."

"Actually, dumb me reopened the top half running down those stairs. I forgot in all that adrenaline and alcohol." She pulled her shirt up to view the wound more clearly, and Faye stifled a gasp.

"That's awful."

"One of the lesser perks of the job; that's why I was hoping to skip town and find work elsewhere. This one got away."

The eleven-inch gash was mostly healed, apart from the top half; it had been ripped clearly open.

Faye brushed her fingers over the wound. "That's good stitch work."

"I had a good doctor."

They grew silent and stayed such the remainder of the trip.

They docked not too long after Jet, parking directly in the hangar as opposed to in the Bebop; Jet had done the same.

They bid each other good night and parted ways; with separate bathrooms, there was no need to fight for hot water.

It was almost 3 AM when Mai finally made it to bed. Phone calls and cleaning now complete, she hit the mattress with a soft thud, her eyes fluttering shut instantly.

A timid knock came from the door.

"Hm?"

The door creaked open, Faye's face barely visible in the darkness, her green eyes alight with questions she wouldn't ask.

"What's the matter, doll?"

"I don't normally do this kind of thing; can I sleep with you?"

It wasn't the first time she'd asked; it wasn't the first time she used that excuse, either.

Mai smiled and rolled over a bit, making ample room on the full-sized bed. She pulled the blanket open, and Faye slid under them, her head on Mai's shoulder.

She had done this every day since they met.

"You don't have to keep making excuses; you're always welcome no questions asked."

Faye shrugged and shifted. "I'm not normally so needy."

"Ah. Now that I can understand; if it makes you feel better, I'm not normally so accommodating. I think we're both in the same boat: two lonely women who have too heavy of burdens to bear."

"You sure you're just 28?"

Mai laughed heartily. "I'm an old soul, but I can say the same of you."

The truth of the matter was that Faye knew more about Mai than she should have; Mai knew Faye's whole story, whether it be the "benefits" she and Spike shared, the home she no longer had, the childhood she almost forgot, the debts she had repaid: Mai knew every fact of Faye that could be discussed.

"Cut from the same cloth."

Mai smiled. "You're prettier cloth than I; I think you're more like silk. I'm leather."

Faye shook her head. "The things you say."

They smiled and curled closer to one another, drifting off not too long after that.

Two old souls slumbering.


	5. 5: Forever Broke

**Bebop Blues - Chapter 5**

**Forever Broke**

Finding the Swordfish had been an interesting task; rows and rows of doors leading to separate "garages" as it were, all seemed the same.

But the blue door stood out.

With a cocky smile, Spike leaned down and yanked the door up.

She looked beautiful.

He walked around the ship, inspecting every nook and cranny, but there was no flaw to be found.

She was even better than when he'd last seen her.

The paint has been redone, the rods and gears had been oiled; even the ammo had been restocked.

The plasma cannon had been upgraded, too.

_'Don't know if it was her or Jet, but I won't look the gift horse in the mouth.'_

He hopped in and revved her up, practically beaming when he heard the purr. _'Really outdone themselves. It's practically new.'_

"Suppose it's time for tea."

The Swordfish rolled forward and took off, flying and soaring so superbly, Spike may have gotten giddy.

He had broken the atmosphere when his vidcom sounded. "Glad to see you're alive, m'boy."

"Doohan! You've outdone yourself. This baby works just like new."

Doohan chuckled beside himself. "Real looker, that one; always thought her to be a real class-act. It was easier to repair with her repertoire of funds and parts at my disposal. Even got you a new paint job, and she flew me out to save you the hassle of bringing it to me."

"So it was her, then."

"Keep that one in your crosshairs, boy."

Spike closed his eyes and smirked. "Married women aren't my type."

The mechanic roared with laughter. "You have a type?"

A cocky half-grin. "Yeah, classy, good taste in machinery, and capable of kicking my ass."

Doohan laughed again. "Watch out then, boy. The one she's running with seems that type, too."

"And who is she running with?"

"Mai always chooses the ones with attitude, but this one-" he whistled "legs for days and fire in her eyes."

"Well, I'll just have to see for myself."

"And Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Just wait 'till you see the ship Mai's packing. Might even put that Swordfish to shame."

"You doubt your abilities, Doohan? That's not like you."

"I made hers with these two hands."

Another half-grin. "I suppose I'll have to give it a run for its money, then."

The vidcom blacked out as Doohan laughed.

It was full blast to Venus; he may even get there in time for tea.

The ship ran faster than ever, and even though Mai had left before him, he was sure he'd be catching up soon. As he soared past a large biodome, three ships in the distance caught his eye.

The Hammerhead and Red Tail looked as though they had been overhauled. It brought to him a flood of memories. He guessed he really did miss them.

He whistled when the third ship came into view.

A black mono-racer, similar to his own but with definite difference, zoomed from the biodome, zipping and twirling as though it were alive.

"A real class act. That's one hell of a ship."

He thought to follow, but if she was running with Faye, it may be better to lay low until the timing was proper.

And Spike Spiegel prided himself on his expert timing.

He drifted back to let them zoom out of sight. He'd have to ask Mai about that dome; her assets seemed to keep piling up.

They left his sight fairly quickly, and he followed suit in landing not too long after.

He popped helium pills as he landed on a parking garage close to the local bank, his gut telling him Mai was after a very particular bounty-head who had run-ins with the Syndicate some lifetime ago.

Big Shots had recently advertised him, and that all but confirmed it for Spike.

Caleb Morrison. His ISSP rap sheet was pretty thin, but he was heavily wanted by anyone who had an interest in keeping old Syndicate work under wraps.

He had been a hired hand to Vicious.

It was brutal, really; he had been an accomplice in Vicious' final coup, taking down low-level Red Dragon members as well as those of rival Syndicates.

He had caused more internal problems than any investigation could have unearthed.

It was strange how concrete everything was becoming to Spike.

He shook off his thoughts and exited the ship, pulling his binoculars to his eyes almost immediately upon stepping onto the roof. Scanning the crowd, he searched for the face of this remarkably pricey bounty.

That's the part he found weird.

Considering the lack of background on the guy, he and his gang were worth a pretty hefty sum. He wondered if Mai had an inkling as to why.

Spike focused on a shifty man walking into the bank. His tousled brown hair and his crooked eyes were the giveaway.

He called Mai.

A few seconds of ringing, and she then picked up the phone.

"You're late for tea."

Spike smirked. "Actually, you're the late one. I just watched Caleb enter the bank."

"We're just a block away!"

"We're? I thought what we had something special, but you went off and replaced me." His voice was thick with sarcasm and suavity.

She scoffed. "We're headed over."

"Just you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I don't like crowds," he lied. He couldn't tell her he knew. It would make up her mind to bring the crew.

"I do things my way, and you do things yours."

He groaned, feigning annoyance. "If that's how it's gotta be."

She winked as the screen went black.

He pocketed the com and proceeded down the stairs. He was determined to catch Caleb first; he couldn't let Mai win 'em all.

As he walked into the bank, he realized he couldn't have had better timing.

"You let us go with our cash, or the whole building goes to pieces!" he heard from Caleb, his hand holding the intercom button.

The moment he crossed the threshold, two of Morrison's cronies blocked the door, the third pushing Spike forward with the tip of his rifle.

"Line up with the rest of 'em."

"I just came to make a deposit."

"A wise guy? Get in line!"

Spike chuckled, but complied walking slowly, eventually halting in line.

He heard footsteps behind him. The heaviness sounded like Jet (he really thought he would have fixed that light clink in his metal leg by now), but the other one moved so lightly, that it could only be Mai. He always thought Faye too impulsive to move so stealthily.

"Line up!" Morrison commanded the group.

Spike turned sideways to face the goon next to him.

"You! Get back in line!"

With a smirk, he leaned forward as though to trip, throwing his leg out at the last second, tripping the man where he stood. "I am in line."

Before the thugs could retaliate, however, that earthy voice he hoped to hear behind him sounded from the balcony. "Checkmate, Morrison."

That meant the soft steps behind him were Faye's. Damn. Didn't see that coming. His cover might have been blown.

"And who are you?"

"She's with me," Spike mused, but only Morrison and his men could hear him.

"Depends."

He grinned despite himself. She had balls of steel.

"That ain't no answer!" Morrison shot.

Assuming Mai had things taken care of from here, especially with back up, Spike began slinking towards the side entrance, the attention of thugs on Mai. He saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs, grinning like a woman crazed. "Stay still, bitch!"

"Okay."

And Spike was beside himself again when some invisible giant fell through the ceiling and pinned Morrison so perfectly that the he was unharmed.

He dipped out the side entrance into the alleyway and grinned. A woman after his own soul indeed.

Judging by the whir, he assumed the "invisible giant" to he her ship. He shook his head with a twinge of impressiveness: that was one hell of a ship.

He lit his hippie cig and laid low in the alley, watching the Bebop crew walk away some fair time later (he assumed it had been a while; he was halfway through his second cigarette) He took note of Mai's wink and farewell. He couldn't hear her, but judging by her body language, she seemed impressed. Once the ISSP cleared the area, Spike followed suit, locating a nearby diner for some grub before heading to the nearest motel.

It was midnight when he saw them from his window, Jet and Mai pink from alcohol, and Faye asleep on Jet's back.

She looked impeccably serene.

The dynamic between all three seemed incredibly fluid considering the short timeframe of their traveling together. Spike felt a pang of jealousy.

Wow. That was new.

_'I actually miss them,'_ he concluded. The thought resounded in his head like some new rebirth, another originating moment of Spike Spiegel: the realization that he had some kind of heart.

A concept he had long forgotten, even with Julia close by.

He had never drawn the correlation between a heart and love, but at this exact moment, he finally understood friendship.

Not partnership, not camaraderie, not association.

But a feeling of wanted self-obligation to protect others.

_'Must be going soft.'_

Deciding it best to take this epiphany at a slower pace, he decided on katas and a shower.

Not too long after, his vidcom rang.

A smirk. "Not too shabby for a dead man."

"Oh? I like your style. Some ship you got there."

"I got pops to thank for that."

They shared a brief moment of respectful silence.

"We never did get tea. You had to crash the party."

She raised her eyebrow.

_'Damn eyebrow.'_

"Then you'll have to join me for dinner on Earth."

"Earth? No hot shots there."

"I've got some cargo to pick up."

"For that mobile planet of yours? That another gift from pops?"

It was a different silence this time.

"Ah. Sorry I asked." He lit up to keep his hands busy. It spooked him to see her shaken.

"The Mezzo was built from the ground up with these two hands. And his."

She wouldn't say the name.

He didn't have to guess.

"Well, it's a hell of a ship."

"It's its own private world of green and blue."

"There's something about blue."

She grinned. "Well then, find the desert flower, and you'll know where I'll be next," and with a wink, the signal went black.

He shook his head at her clue with a smug smile. Earth, huh? She was Earth. Or did she sing like it? Or was that the song she sang? He couldn't remember.

Faye was from Earth.

That was strangely random. It was this "missing them" bit again.

He shook it off to retire to bed.

He had a flower to find.


	6. 6: Words That We Couldn't Say

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 6: Words That We Couldn't Say**

There was a knock at the door.

Groggy and scratching her head, Mai arose, careful to not wake Faye.

"Huh?"

"You seen Faye?" His question seemed more like a distraction than an actual inquiry.

"She's in here."

Awkward.

"Didn't expect that..."

Mai shrugged. "It's better that you don't expect things and just go with the flow. You'll lose less sleep over it that way."

"I wanted to talk to her, but considering the topic, I think I'll ask you instead."

Judging by his change in tone, Mai was prepared to believe that he wasn't going to accept any of her crypticism. "I don't buy that you came here looking for Faye." She closed the door behind her. "I suppose it depends on your exact question, but can we move this conversation to the kitchen? I'd like a cup of tea and a cigarette. This is going to take a while."

Feeling as though he had gotten the most direct answer out of her yet, Jet nodded and led the way.

She had been standing there in a sports bra and shorts.

He would have been an idiot to not have seen the stitches.

"What's with-"

"Why don't we start from your first question and work our way up?"

They had just entered the kitchen; Jet flipped the switch as he crossed the threshold. Mai set the teapot to brew and took a seat at the table. Lighting her joint, she inhaled, the drug easing the pain in her side immensely.

"Alright, so where should I start?" Jet asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Start with whatever question inspired you to wake me up at 5 AM despite the measly 2 hours of sleep in my system."

Jet blinked in discomfort, but she seemed more amused than annoyed.

"A buddy of mine got me thinking. Do you really know Doohan?"

She nodded. "He built the Blues from the ground up with his own two hands at the request of my father."

That seemed true.

"And the Swordfish?"

She took a puff. "I know his handiwork when I see it, that brand of paint, the firmness in the bolts, the sweat he put into it; hell, it looks so much like the Blues that I was curious as to whether or not it was the inspiration."

Another fact.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Place of birth?"

"Earth. I told you that already."

"Last name?"

"Spiegel."

"Bullshit."

"Oh? Because it's Spike's last name?"

He stiffened. "What all has Faye told you?"

She sighed. "Faye has told me her story; the rest of us are the weavers of our own tales. She wouldn't do you the injustice in divulging yours to me."

He furrowed his brow in thought. "What IS your deal with Faye, then?"

Mai smiled wistfully. "She's got this purity about her that no one seems to notice. A childhood unlived. She woke up an adult and was forced into an adult world with adult clothes and adult problems and adult debts, and all she really wants is to belong. To be loved and held and told she matters, because in the grand scheme of things, she never was treated that way as a child."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, but if she can't remember, then it's just the same; that childlike innocence in her still exists. She needs someone to cherish it."

It was a lot heavier an answer than he anticipated. "Is what you said earlier on Venus true?"

"I'm a lost soul wandering; it's nice to find a kindred spirit and share the burden. We're just... friends, close ones who really need to be held sometimes."

He didn't want to continue this; it felt too intimate and too personal to be fair.

The teapot whistled, breaking the silence, and Mai rose from her chair to pour the tea.

"Green tea with honey," she commented as she passed Jet a glass.

He nodded his gratitude.

They sipped in silence momentarily before Jet spoke again, changing the course of the conversation. "It's apparent you haven't lied to us, but it's also apparent that you've deliberately worded your answers to mislead us."

"Not to mislead, Jet. You're the captain, and you have a right to know. I word things deliberately to deliver them in perfect timing; I've always struggled with timing."

"Sounds like there's more to that."

She chuckled. "I don't enjoy putting all my eggs in one basket, either."

"I guess I can't blame you."

She took another sip and then puff and passed a fresh one to Jet. "You need it."

He put up a hand. "No thank you. I prefer a level head."

"Of course you do. You're a cop."

"Did you draw that conclusion before I told you?"

She nodded. "Level-headed, unnatural need for justice, lack of fear for your own well-being, and a firm sense of honor: the straightest cop I've ever met."

"Thank you."

"They don't make 'em like you these days. Everyone's got some agenda."

"What's yours?"

She gave a thoughtful pause. "To find what I'm looking for. That's all there is to it."

Sip.

"How long has Spiegel been your last name?"

She grinned madly. "Now you're asking like a cop."

"Well?"

"Believe it or not, since I was nineteen."

"I don't believe it, Mai Yenrai."

Ignoring the implication, she busied herself by studying the ripples in her glass.

"And is Mai even your first name?"

Without glancing up, she answered carefully. "All in due time; you'll have to work harder for that answer. You're too good a cop, and I have a lot at stake."

He slammed his fist down on the table, standing up in the process, the chair scraping across the metal floor in screeches. "Dammit. Are you Mao's daughter or not?"

"What's all the commotion about?" Faye stood in the doorway, her oversized shirt billowing over her tiny shorts.

They looked at her in unison like parents fighting, the ideas forming between them of how to address the situation without disturbing or upsetting the child.

"Take a seat, Faye, and I'll tell you my story."

Faye tugged at the bottom of her shirt nervously. "Are you sure?"

It was positively adorable; even Jet couldn't help but crack a smile at the innocence of it. He finally understood Faye: she was stuck in shoes too large.

Even so, she had matured a great deal in the past year or so; the innocence maintained seemed the part of her that had never been disturbed.

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked." Mai's eyes twinkled warmly. She rose from her seat to pour Faye some tea.

"Thank you."

Mai nodded. She took a long drag from the end of her cig before dropping remains into the ashtray.

"Ask your question again, Jet, though I have the sneaking suspicion that you already know the answer."

She lit another cig and handed one to Faye. She took it gladly.  
Jet took a deep breath and gathered himself. "Are you the daughter of Mao Yenrai, late leader of the Red Dragons?"

Faye puffed. "She is."

Mai smiled. "I am the actual blood daughter of Mao Yenrai, born into a world that didn't suit my loving nature."

"You knew?"

Faye nodded. "She's got a hell of a past, and I don't know it all, but what she's told me, she's told me in confidence. There's a good reason for it."

Mai nodded and continued her tale. "I hate blood money, crime, drugs, you name it. It leaves an awful taste in my mouth. My father, rest his soul, wanted me to grow in a world of love and peace, free from crime and danger, and so I was raised by my mother on Venus. He said, "No daughter of mine should be subjected to the bloodshed and toils of man's selfishness." That was the day he changed his outlook on his business: the day I was born."

Sip.

"My mother, rest her soul, was a kind and quiet woman, strong and fierce, but the warmest most generous soul that ever lived. I was seven when they got her, those outside Syndicate hotshots. I remember everything they did. I still remember the screams. The blood. Their eyes..."

She puffed hard, the memory stirring something in her that she concentrated on containing.

"It angered me. To see those... Beasts... Do that to her, but I remained quiet. Father, heartbroken, brought me back to Mars, and I was raised with the boys."

"The boys?"

"The orphaned boys of Mars who had nowhere else to turn; the boys who grew up too fast in a world too cruel. The beasts in boys' clothing. The children of the Syndicate."

Both Faye and Jet dead panned. Judging by Faye's face, this was a part of the story she had not yet heard.

"They were raised to be killers, peddlers, smooth talkers, and every other dark shade of criminal in between. I was taught etiquette, social protocol, and how to speak, while they were taught how to kill, fight, and maim. I was to be a leader, free of bloodied hands and free from prosecution."

Sip.

"Some of them didn't like that. A pair of brothers, both orphaned from drug addict parents, chose to torment me frequently. To this day, one of them even stalks me, attempting to "dethrone the high and mighty successor." He feels I am undeserved."

She gestured to the gash upon her rib cage.

"He even goes so far as to follow his elder brother's actions: that damned sword."

"Vicious..." Faye all but whispered. She seemed distant, as though some specter had taken place next to Mai at the table.

Mai took another puff and placed a hand over Faye's to calm her. "His brother Victor is just as cruel. So long as one of them lives, my days tend to be numbered in ways I'd not prefer."

Another sip and a cough from Jet.

"Needless to say, despite the bullying, the desire to please my father outweighed their jealousy and hatred of me. I was never tortured too horribly until this stage of life."

Puff.

"But then I met him. I was 19, well on my way to taking over father's place in years to come, despite my secret life as a bounty hunter, and I met the single, greatest man in the universe of this surreal existence: Spiegel."

Nervous glances from Jet to Faye were filled with confusion and doubt. Surely not the same Spiegel, but the coincidence could not be happenstance.

"He was born and raised on Mars; when he was 16, his parents were killed by robbers. Cruel fate he suffered, and he refused to take shelter with the Syndicate. He wandered the streets doing odd jobs and playing his bass, earning whatever money he could to stay fed and clothed. When I met him, he was 22 and working as a waiter at one of my father's favorite venues. He chatted father up and asked permission to take me out. He introduced me to a world on the edge, a life without restriction and propriety and forced habit. He made me feel alive for the first time. The only time. He made the dream feel so real. So beautiful."

Puff. Sip. Pause.

"Father adored him. He said he couldn't have hoped for a better man. Despite the lack of career, he made good money between waiting tables and playing gigs, and he had a home to call his own. We married five months later."

"Five months? And you were so young!" Jet exclaimed.

Faye remained silent, looking away from the storyteller, words she had never heard pulling her heart in different directions.

"Not when you know. There's nothing but him."

Silence.

Sip.

"He had been separated from his brother and sister since the incident, and I had no one but father. We made a family of ourselves."

"His... siblings?"

Mai nodded. "We later discovered his sister had passed not too long after his parents. She had been kidnapped in the robbery..."

That seemed the darkest.

"She was only 8."

Darkest indeed.

"His brother had taken the route of vagabond and ended up at the steps of the Syndicate when he turned 15. I never met him, though we were the same age. Not even after I met Roy did I meet him; he was some ghostly satellite: engrained in my life in more ways than one, but never within sight or consciousness."

The wheels and cogs were turning.

And this new Spiegel had a name.

"Roy tried to reason with him, tell him there were other ways, but his brother had always been like the rest of us Syndicate kin: wild, untamed, and unbridled."

"Rest of you?" Faye was on the edge of her seat.

Mai nodded. "Though I don't share the viewpoint, I'm not the spitting image of perfection."

"I've been wondering about that," Jet added.

"It's a side I hope neither of you have to witness, but the hippie in me keeps the beast at bay." With that said, she took a long drawl of her joint.

Sip. Sip.

"Roy's been missing for almost two years," she said finally.

They waited. She seemed to be struggling with the words.

"I awoke in a hospital, covered in bandages. No recollection as to how I got there, what had transpired to put me in that state, where I was, or when it was."

Puff. Puff. And a ring of smoke lifted around her ominously.

"I had been unconscious for six months. The doctors said a man in a coat and hat dropped me off with my credentials under my father's last name. I had been transferred from another hospital before I awoke, but my records had been lost. I never knew from where I was first taken. In the first week, the only memory that came flooding back to me was a church, but nothing else. I remember being told of my father's death, but never the details. I suspect Vicious or Victor had something to do with it. A lot had happened around the time I showed up at that first mystery hospital."

Puff, but the cig was empty, her story nearly spun.

"I pushed through, and retrained in the skills taught to me from birth, from fighting to talking. I still had a lot of connections from my previous glory days, and I utilized them to get back into the bounty-hunting swing. I searched high and low, church after church, hospital after hospital, but I couldn't find hide or hair of him."

A final sip.

"And so, here I am."

She stubbed the joint into the tray.

"Still searching."


	7. 7: The Egg and I: Call Me, Call Me

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 7**

**The Egg and I: Call Me, Call Me**

He bolted upright.

His body was covered in sweat, and his sheets were tangled around his ankles. The pillow had been knocked to the floor in his slumber.

He brought a hand to his face and was beside himself. He was crying in his sleep.

He picked up the pillow and flopped backwards; he felt completely overwhelmed.

And he didn't know why.

He looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand.

4:32AM.

Spike contemplated a phone call to Jet, having concluded that he missed them, even the damned kid and dog, and the shrew.

Yeah. He missed her, too.

He didn't leave her on the best of terms, but with a friendship as sexually tense as that...

Did he just consider her a friend?

He gripped his head and tousled his hair, straining to recall whatever nightmare just caused this irrational train of thought and his random flow of tears.

Yeah. He would call Jet. Set the premise for his return; maybe the newfound balance between Jet and Faye would ease things over.

He reached for his vidcom, and with uncanny muscle memory, dialed out to Jet.

Ring after ring.

"Hello?" The word was wary, and Jet's face looked frozen, as if from shock.

He suspected the multiple rings to be Jet's disbelief in seeing his number flash across his screen.

"Yo."

Silence.

"I don't believe it."

Spike rubbed the back of his head. "Well, that's better a reaction than I could have hoped for."

"You're alive? After all this time? Where the hell are you?"

Spike lit a cig, Mai's brand. "More alive than I thought I'd be." He puffed. "I met a woman."

Jet looked torn between a laugh and a scowl. "Hahaha. A woman you say? And she revived the great Spike Spiegel?"

He puffed again. "Something like that." He put a hand to his chin. "I'm on Venus, headed out to Earth tomorrow; I'm looking for something."

"We're headed that way, too. We should pick you up. We just left-" It hit Jet like a dose of Red-Eye. "So that was you in the bank. Faye isn't crazy."

He puffed. "Now, don't go saying things like that. I'd like to think that some things haven't changed since I've been dead."

Jet got defensive. "Don't spout proclamations like that; she's had a long way to come to get to this point."

"How is she?" He mentally slapped himself. Damn. He did miss the annoying broad.

Jet furrowed his brow. "She's... Well, I don't really know how to answer that."

"Oh?" That intrigued him. When did she stop wearing her heart on her sleeve? She was always so loud about that.

"She's still got that attitude, just not the attitude problem. More modest these days, too. She really pulled through after you, well, you know. Even paid off her debts."

"Poker Alice? Debt-free?"

"She stopped gambling a long time ago, too. Only plays when I play. It's our "unwinding" hobby."

"You two close?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

Jet gave a chuckle. "Jealous, Spike? That's not like you."

Might as well give honesty a shot. "Well, I miss you guys, and I don't want things to change, you know?"

Jet blinked. "You feeling alright, buddy? That doesn't sound like the Spike I know."

Spike shrugged. "Things change, I guess."

Jet gave another chuckle, a heartfelt one. "This woman's got some hold on you."

Jet lit himself his own cigarette. "Speaking of women, you know a Mai Spiegel?"

Spike faltered a bit, but shook it off. Something about that last name on her. "Never heard of her." That wasn't a lie. He knew a Mai Yenrai.

"Hm. We got a new crewmember. She's a lot like you, actually. Something about her doesn't sit right with me..."

"What does your gut tell you?"

Jet closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "To confront her. She and Faye have an... Interesting friendship, though. It makes the situation delicate.

Spike raised both eyebrows this time. "Interesting how?"

"Well, they sleep in the same bed. I don't know whether or not they realize I'm aware of it, but they haven't come right out and said it."

That interested Spike a great deal, but this was a sensitive situation on his end. "Well, try a different approach. Use something she's brought up in the past."

"She left the Swordfish on Mars, said Doohan wanted it."

"Go with that, then. Ask about Doohan. I doubt she'll run from you if you ask directly."

"Oh? And why do you think that?"

Spike gave a half-grin. "A little songbird told me."

Jet shook his head. "This woman of yours..."

"Not mine. She's shot me down. Married, anyways."

Jet opened his eyes in surprise. "Spike Spiegel? Fawning over a married woman? You really have changed Spike."

"You've got no clue." He took a final puff. "Well, Black Dog, go sink in those fangs. I'll see you on Earth in the next few days."

Jet smiled. "Will do." A second of silence. "And for your sake, I won't mention this to Faye."

"Better that you don't. Don't want her slipping into old habits."

"She's stronger than you 're giving her credit for."

"Hm."

"Oh, and Spike?"

"Huh?"

"Lay off the marijuana cigarettes. I feel alone enough on this damned ship as it is with Faye and Mai smoking them."

Spike laughed as the video faded out.

Mai would make hippies out of all of them: jazzy bluesy hippies.

He could dig it.

Rejuvenated by the conversation with Jet and too awake to return to slumber, he practiced his kata, took a shower, and decided to set off for Earth. He'd have to do some digging to do in order to catch up, as easy as it would be just to ask. He rather enjoyed the hunt.

Grabbing eggs and bacon from the conveniently free breakfast provided by the hotel, he bounded out the door and to the Swordfish.

He took off without a hitch and set a course for autopilot after breaking the atmosphere. He wanted to do some investigative work before he touched ground.

As he began tapping at his ship's computer, faces and emoticons began placing themselves where he would type. He frowned a bit, but before he knew it, a dark-skinned, redhead had overtaken his screen.

"Spike-person is alive! Edward is so happy! Edward knew not to believe the stories on the TV!"

Spike grinned widely, and he grinned even wider when he heard a familiar bark in the background.

"Ein is happy to see Spike, too!"

He chuckled. "You found me, Ed."

"Ah! But I couldn't have without Jet-person! Edward traced you from his com signal!"

"So you're still keeping tabs on them?"

She frowned. It was a cross between awkward and cute. Spike could tell she had grown a bit, and her figure had started to fill out. Her childlike expressions made him assume that she hadn't learned much in ways of mannerisms following after her father.

The girl really needed some maternal guidance.

"Edward was until a few weeks ago! Bebop went poof! Off the network. A ghost in the system!"

Spike chuckled again. "They've got a new ship they use these days, track the Red Tail and Hammerhead, and you'll be able to find them."

She frowned again. "Edward has tried, but Edward cannot stay connected or crack the new firewall! And Ein can find them, but not them."

"Huh?"

"Find in system! Not in space!" She threw her arms apart like an airplane.

"I see."

"Has Spike talked to Faye-Faye?" Her eyes were wide.

"Not yet. I'm keeping it a secret until I see her a person."

"Oh! Because Spike likes Faye-Faye, right?"

He blinked at her. "Uh..."

"Edward remembers! Spike and Faye-Faye would start fighting, but after Jet would go to sleep, Spike and Faye-Faye would sneak into Faye-Faye's room and..." she then made a smooched face, her lips puckered and her eyes heavy-lidded, "...ooh-la-la!"

"Enough of that, Ed."

Ein barked.

"And you, too, mutt."

He whimpered.

"Be nice! Ein and Ed are only trying to help!"

He sighed. "I know, Ed."

"Spike-person is looking for the mysterious desert flower!" she proclaimed, throwing her arms to the air in excitement.

He always did appreciate her knack for dismissing an awkward situation. "I am."

"Desert flower is dangerous stuff!"

"What is it?"

"Ed is still searching, but everyone who has searched has poofed like Bebop!"

"Oh?"

"There is a 100 Million Woolong bounty for its capture!"

"100 Million Woolong for something no one knows a thing about?"

Ed nodded vigorously. "Rumor has it that the desert flower can bring eternal fortune upon its finder! Fortunes and fames!" She waved her arms in her typical cat fashion.

Ein barked.

"Sounds like quite the flower."

Ed and Ein nodded in unison. "There's little for Ed to find! All leads go cold!" She shivered. "Closest person to finding it is Mai Yenrai!"

That intrigued him. "Does she know what it is?"

"Ed is not sure. Mai-lady might, but Ed cannot crack through Mai-lady's firewall, either, and Ein tried, but Ein hurt himself."

"Interesting. Well, Ed, how's about we team up and see if we can beat Jet and Faye to this flower?"

"Like a race! Edward likes races!"

"Yeah. A race."

"Edward is sending you coordinates! Can Ein come, too?"

He lit a cig. "Yeah. And Ed?"

"Yes?" Her eyes were big and hopeful.

"Don't tell Jet and Faye. It's a race, remember?"

She saluted. "Aye aye, Captain Spike. Ed will keep them off the trail!"

Ein barked.

As soon as the screen blacked, Ed's coordinates flashed on the screen.

Spike reset his course, and he was earthbound.

He was off to meet with the kid and dog.

Oh yeah, he could dig it.


	8. 8: The Egg and You: Tank!

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 8**

**The Egg and You: Tank!**

Neither Jet nor Faye could sleep.

Mai had retired some time ago, but both Faye and Jet were still planted firmly in the seats she had left them in.

Neither Jet nor Faye knew exactly what to say.

They sat in silence, sipping their tea and smoking their cigarettes.

Jet even took one of Faye's.

"Wow," Faye finally mustered after what felt like hours.

It had been 15 minutes.

"Yeah," Jet agreed. He inhaled deeply before coughing.

"Easy on that old man." She patted his back.

He attempted to shrug her off. "You seem to handle them fine."

"I have experience."

He blinked at her, inwardly thankful for the change in topic. "You do?"

She smiled knowingly. "After Spike, I took them up. Sparingly, but they were the most amazing things some nights."

He was eager to change the topic again.

"So..."

"Mai."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"What all did you know of that?"

"I knew she was Mao's daughter. I knew about her mother and how she grew up in the Syndicate." She took a long breath. "I didn't know about the "children of the Syndicate," and I didn't know who sliced her like that. She told me it was a bounty, one who she's been after for a while. I didn't even know she was married. I would never have thought it was that..." puff, "heavy..."

"Yeah."

"It makes me thankful, in a way." She inhaled sharply and coughed slightly. "I don't have a memory as strong as that. My past is bits and piece, fragments."

"Yeah."

"You're awfully talkative, old man."

"It just really makes you think."

"No wonder she was keeping it to herself."

"So she's Spike's sister, in a way."

The silence around them fell thicker.

"How crazy... What a small world."

Something seemed to overtake Jet, and he stood from the table promptly. "I have a phone call to make."

Faye watched him walk away, her eyes glazed in disbelief, the weight still crushing her.

Now was as good a time as any to try and get more sleep. She slowly walked out of the kitchen, flipping the switch as she crossed the frame. "It's always a damn Spiegel," she said aloud, finishing her cigarette.

As she passed the com station, she heard Jet's silent cursing.

"Damn signal is jammed. Are you kidding me? What the hell is that knucklehead-"

"What knucklehead?" Faye asked, her curiosity severely piqued.

"Huh?" He jumped in surprise, startled by her presence. "Uh, a connection of mine. I wanted to see what he could dig up. Figured that since we know what Mai's past is like, we could maybe find some leads and help, you know?"

He seemed uncertain.

Faye was unconvinced, but willing to comply. No sense in trying to get anything out of him; the man was far too set in his thoughts.

"You shouldn't talk to yourself," she finally commented, "people might start to think you're crazy." She left the room with a flip of her hand to the air as she faced away and strode down the hallway.

She finally reached her room, though she could hardly call it that. She hadn't slept in it once since boarding the ship. She opened the door and slumped to her bed, sitting on the edge with her head in her hands. Something rustled beneath her. Leaning forward, she pulled a note from under her thigh.

_'The door is never locked. You just have to knock._

_-M'_

Faye smiled and ventured down the hall again.

"If it eases things to call me "the other woman" you can gladly do so."

"Shouldn't that be my line? You're the married one."

Mai softly smiled and sat up, lighting a cigarette. "I couldn't sleep; I just needed to think."

"I needed that, too."

"How's Jet?"

"Shocked, and he's a bit remorseful, but he doesn't hold it against you." Faye lit a cigarette from Mai's stash. "Neither of us can, really. That's some burden." She blew a ring. "You're gonna' carry that weight."

Mai grinned devilishly. "Something like that."

Faye scooted closer to her, pulling her legs to her chest.

Mai put her left hand forward, fingers opened widely. "It's a black diamond, you know, from Earth."

She was looking at her ring.

For the life of her, Faye could not figure out how she had never noticed it. They had slept in the same bed, held hands, talked extensively, and curled close together so many times, but it had always passed her thoughts.

"It doesn't look like a wedding band, I guess." Mai shrugged.

"I suppose it doesn't."

Mai slipped the ring off to glance at the inscription inside.

'My Muse.'

She smiled wistfully. "His says "My Zen." It suits us."

"Zen?"

"My inner-peace, my solitude, my completion."

"Oh."

They smoked and cuddled in silence, Mai leaning her head in Faye's shoulder.

Funny. Mai was usually the strong one.

"What was he like?"

"He was a man born in the wrong time. Old fashioned, but forward-thinking. He loved music and marijuana and martial arts. He saw the logic in the senseless, and he made sense of a world I couldn't understand. He taught me love without condition, happiness without necessity, and unbridled passion." She inhaled deeply. "I've always seen life as some big dream that we cycle through until we reach that door, but he opened my eyes to what life was truly like. He made me feel alive."

Faye was silent to that. Mai and Spike still had too much in common for her liking.

"He sounds wonderful."

"I never believed in soul mates until Roy came along."

Faye inhaled deeply this time. "You think everybody has one?"

"I know everybody does; the harsh reality is that sometimes we get lucky and sometimes we don't." Puff. "I think you're one of the lucky ones."

Faye snorted. "Yeah. Me. Sure."

"I mean it."

Faye took the initiative and stretched herself onto the bed. They had been sitting in the dark. "I think I'd like to try and get some sleep before we hit Earth."

Mai stretched to lie beside her. "So would I."

If Faye didn't know any better, she'd swear Mai was crying.

They reached Earth in 3 days, and both Jet and Faye gave Mai a pretty wide berth during the remainder of the trip. She didn't seem to mind, and she and Faye still spent most of their time together.

She was cooking dinner as they approached Earth's atmosphere.

"I have to ask you again," she heard Jet call from the doorway.

Faye was in the gym, practicing the katas that Mai had been teaching her. She had progressed fairly well as a fighter, and she was anxious to get better.

It also distracted her from her thoughts.

Jet used their brief moment of separation to his advantage.

"Ask me what?"

"What is up with you and Faye?"

Mai smiled. "Why are you so determined to find something wrong with this?"

Jet crossed his arms. "Because I'm not stupid." He closed the door. "After Spike died-"

"You and I both know that's not the case." She remained stoic despite the somberness of her voice.

"So, the truth comes out."

"You're not being entirely honest, either, in hiding it from her."

He paled. "But he-"

"Asked you to keep it a secret."

"He said he didn't know a Mai Spiegel, either."

"That's because he knows a Mai Yenrai."

"So you weren't even honest with him?"

"That's a more complicated answer."

Jet tapped his foot. "You dodged my initial question."

"I'm assuming your biggest concern is whether or not I'm going to hurt Faye because as a woman who's already gone through this once, you don't think she can handle it again."

He gave a moment of thought before responding. "Something like that."

Mai smiled and continued her stirring of the stew in front of her. "You'll just have to trust that I won't hurt her."

"I find it hard to trust you, all things considered."

"Then have a little faith. Like men do gods and women do men, have faith that I mean no harm."

He blinked. "You mean it, then, that you and Faye are just friends."

"We are friends who need each other more than two women should. She misses Spike. I miss Roy. We cling to that loneliness in each other because it reminds us that, despite our loneliness, we are not alone. Someone else knows our pain."

"You're one cool cat, huh?"

She laughed heartily. "I just have a very deep understanding for things most people don't."

Jet smiled. He guessed he liked her.

They dined as they entered the atmosphere, and Mai tidied the kitchen while they landed.

"So, what's the scoop again? Some flower?" Faye asked.

Her attitude was coming back. Jet and Mai appreciated it.

"The desert flower. It's worth 100 Million Woolong," Jet confirmed.

"A plant? It's not illegal or black market? Why is there a bounty on it?"

"Because most people who go looking for it wind up missing or dead. ISSP needs it investigated ASAP, hence the bounty."

"Interesting."

"I'll do some digging."

"As will we," Faye responded.

They separated, Jet much more comfortable with splitting up now that Faye had a partner.

They trekked down the street, Faye attempting to pause at various bars and corner stores. Mai kept shaking her head, her sunglasses glinting. "Not right."

"What do you mean by that?" This flower has no leads."

"Trust me." Mai led her further still.

They stopped at a garage near the edge of town. "We'll need this." She swiped a card through the reader, and the door opened.

There stood a motorcycle, and judging by the make and model, Faye was prepared to believe it to be vintage.

"Why?"

"Journey's too long to finish on foot." She hopped on and beckoned to Faye. "Hold tight."

"You'll pop a stitch."

Mai knocked on her rib cage, and a metallic clink resounded. "Got some protection for just this occasion. This shirt's got some pretty sweet armor."

Faye grinned and hopped on behind her, the blue bike revving beneath them. "I like you're style."

"You always have." And, with a grin, Mai took off.

Considering the length of the trip, Faye was a bit downhearted by the loudness of the engine. She had hoped to get more clarification behind this strange trek.

There was no road.

They seemed to be traveling to nowhere.

After a confusing hour, they came upon a cantina, no signs or roads or other paths to indicate its existence.

Mai parked her bike, and the two hopped off.

"Seems deserted."

"Seems that way." Mai walked in regardless, Faye following suit.

Three men were at a table near by, but the rest of the bar remained empty. It had gotten to be fairly late in the afternoon and judging by Faye's stomach, it was close to dinnertime.

"What'll it be ladies?" the bartender asked.

It was a woman, long brown wavy hair and mesmerizing green eyes, bust and hips in perfect roundness. Even Faye was a tad jealous of the figure; she was a classic mysterious beauty.

She was around Faye's height with a slight Spanish accent.

"We'll flip through the menu, if you don't mind."

The woman faltered a bit, but smiled. "Certainly."

Mai sat at the bar, dead center, and Faye sat to her right. As the bartender brought them menus and glasses of water, she smiled again. "House special is the chili. It will really knock your socks off."

"I'm certain it will," Mai said as she sipped her drink.

The bartender looked to the men; they had been eyeing the couple from the moment they entered. On some unspoken queue, the men arose and left.

"So what'll it be?"

"You tell me, Rose."

The bartender blinked. "But how did...?"

"You don't recognize me?" She removed her sunglasses. "Your eyes don't lie."

"Well, I'll be damned. If it isn't the dragon in the flesh."

"Likewise."

"Oh?"

"You know why I'm here."

Rose frowned. "I do?"

Faye was intrigued. "What's going on? Who are you?"

Rose smiled. "Didn't you hear her? My name is Rose, Rose Santiago."

"I heard that much."

"She's what we're looking for."

Faye blinked. "The desert flower?"

"Mai, you leading lambs?"

"This one's a tiger."

Rose smiled at Faye. "A tiger, are you?" She turned to face Mai. "Que te trae a mi esta vez?"

Mai frowned. "My need to stop this madness."

Rose frowned this time. "Que locura? Yo hago lo que necesitan para sobrevivar. Usted lo sabe. Tengo algo que protegar."

"What do you have to protect?" Faye asked. "Si, un tigre," she added for good measure. She had taken up a large number of hobbies in Spike's absence.

Mai grinned widely. "What did I say, Rose?"

Rose, a bit shocked, but impressed nonetheless, led them to the back storeroom. "This." She pulled a box from beneath a floorboard. Using a key from around her neck, she unlocked the contents to reveal the treasure she had been protecting.

Faye gasped, though Mai didn't flinch.

A round-cut ruby, 60 carats in size, sat in the box, pillowed by black velvet.

"It's beautiful."

"It's a curse," Mai replied.

Faye hadn't noticed she lit a cigarette.

As Mai exhaled the smoke, she looked at Rose. "It's time we put the charade to rest."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "You promised-"

"That I wouldn't turn you in so long as you stopped the senseless killing in protecting that damned thing." Mai exhaled again. "But someone is tarnishing your name trying to get it, and I need this solved."

"Why?"

Mai glowered. "Rose..."

"Your father-"

"Was more than gracious enough. You know why it's important that I return that to its rightful spot, and given my current circumstances, it's necessary that I do so."

"It's just a ruby... A huge ruby worth millions, I would think," Faye concluded.

"It's the elixir of life, frozen in time."

"What?"

Mai puffed. "When it was discovered forty years ago, scientists ran test after test; the findings were incredible. The stone is actually a frozen liquid, a compound that they deduced to be a protein capable of reversing the breakdown of mitochondria. In laymen's terms-" puff, "-it stops the aging process."

Faye's eyes grew wide. "But wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Overpopulation? Stimulation of greed for immortality? We live, so we die. Defying nature is always the quickest way to extinction. Would you want to live forever? See the world die out before you? Watch men fight for this petty want? See your loved ones die before you? It stops aging, not death." She puffed. "They don't know how to synthesize it, as it seems partially synthesized already, and they don't know how to melt it. I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"That's not your job!"

"Nor is it yours to protect it, Rose."

"I have plenty to protect."

They went silent.

A quiet cough sounded from the doorway. "Mama? Is everything alright."?

The big green eyes from the little brunette said all they needed to; the desert flower had a seedling.

"Flora, mama and Auntie Mai were just talking."

The little girl coughed again.

And the truth finally dawned on Faye.

Rose's daughter was sick.

And all of the sudden, the situation changed from Rose being the selfish villain to Rose being the vigilante mother.

Mai leaned down to hug the girl. She reached into her pocket and handed her a candy rock lollipop. "Here, sweetie. We'll be done in a moment."

Flora smiled and bounded back to the bar.

"I'll make you a deal," Mai said finally. "We wipe all this off the books, and you two come with me. That damned ruby, too. Dad wanted that thing gone, but your love for your daughter forced his hand. At least refrain from doing him the injustice of tarnishing your selflessness with bloodshed."

Rose eyed them warily, her age showing. She was in her late thirties at least, though her skin and figure looked younger. "Even I know it won't save Flora, that damned rock, but maybe it will buy her enough time to fight what she's got, you know?"

Mai faltered. "You're grasping at straws."

But before the conversation could continue, an explosion sounded from the front.

"Rose! We're down!"

Faye and Mai assumed it to be one of the men from earlier yelling.

Rose hastily shoved the ruby into its hiding spot. "Go!" she yelled.

As they bolted to the front, Rose jumped over the bar to grab a machine gun. "Flora!"

"I'll hide, mama!" and the little girl ran to the storeroom.

The front of the bar was nearly destroyed. Bullets lined the desert ground, and only one of the three men was left alive.

They watched as a solitary shot zipped through his skull.

Five men, all clad in black, stood in front of a jeep; judging by the matching silver snakes on their sleeves, the trio deduced them to be a new upcoming Syndicate.

"Fuck," Faye professed

"Let's jam," Mai huffed. Spitting out her cigarette, she launched at the closest man, kicking him square in the chest; the other four turned immediately to chance shots, their pistols locked and loaded.

Rose was busy making work of the getaway car, her machine gun perforating the high-class vehicle. "Oi, vatos! Try and run now!"

Faye, reacting slower than the other two, pulled her Glock out and aimed for the nearest gunman. She shattered his knee.

Mai, having dodged the onslaught, engaged in fluid fighting; she was concerned with the man's skills. This was not normal of hotshot Syndicate groups.

These men were serious business.

Faye rolled behind a nearby barrel to avoid more shots.

Only the man Faye shot was down.

"Chinga tu madre!" Rose grabbed her arm in pain, blood flowing freely.

There were so many things happening at once, that Faye almost didn't notice it.

Mai was seeing red.

Soon, two more jeeps had pulled up with Syndicate goons, and they piled out with rifles and pistols.

But Mai stayed persistent.

A dagger in her first, she proceeded to punch and kick, flinging her attackers into each other, slicing throats and ripping flesh.

It was maddening.

She moved less like water and more like a hurricane, her open palm gripping a nearby shooter's face with such ferocity that Faye was sure his eyes would pop from their sockets.

"You wanna' fuck with me?" Mai snarled.

A bullet whizzed by Faye's hiding spot, snapping her out of her stupor. She had to act quickly. Mai had taken down five men in a flash, plus the one Faye brought to his knees.

Rose was on the porch of the bar, tossing a grenade towards a fourth jeep that was coming towards them.

It exploded on impact.

Faye stood up and took sniper shots to two of them. One down, the other pissed, and as he opened fire on her two amazing things happened.

One, the anxiety of Faye's life hanging by a thread brought Mai back to sanity.

Two, Faye was tackled to the ground.

All she saw was green.

The man had jumped from the roof to tackle her and roll her away from the incoming barrage.

"Spike!" Mai yelled.

He whispered in Faye's ear. "Always in trouble, aren't you?"

He stood up quickly and took a shot at Faye's attacker, though Mai did as well.

It was Rose's bullet that did the deed, though.

Three men remained, but a fifth jeep was hot on the trail.

"I'm out of grenades!" Rose yelled.

"Allow Edward!" a high-pitched squeal sounded from above. The redhead typed away on her Tomato. "Zoom, zoom, click, clack-" she hit the final key, "-BOOM!"

Two men rolled out of the jeep just before the vehicle exploded.

"Edward helped!" The girl was beaming, the dog on her head barking in happiness.

There were five left.

Mai and Spike looked to each other and nodded; turning back to back, they were pleased to find that the remainder of men had no remaining bullets. With smirks to rival each other's, a synchronized combat ensued.

They appeared to be of one mind.

Faye still sat on the ground in shock.

And as the last man was taken down with a punch to both cheeks, one by Spike and one by Mai, Faye remained frozen.

"Not bad, cowboy."

"Not too bad yourself, huntress. We make a good team."

"Always happy to oblige."

Ed jumped off the roof to run to the two. "Crazy lady with the fancy moves! Edward is Edward!" She took a deep bow.

The dog jumped from her head and made a bow of his own.

Mai patted Ed's head. "I'm Mai."

Spike leaned forward, his mouth close to Mai's cheek. "You mind telling me what you've been up to?"

But Mai was looking for Faye.

Spike spotted her first, in the same place he had left her minutes before.

He walked to her slowly, and extended his hand to help her up.

Still shocked, she took it and rose to her feet, her eyes never leaving his.

"You're... Alive."

He smiled.

"Yo."


	9. 9: Bad Dog No Biscuit

A/N: This is my last update until I return from E3 on Friday. Expect the next chapter either Saturday or Sunday.

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 9: Bad Dog No Biscuit**

He felt actual relief to have his feet on solid ground.

He supposed he was truly alive, then.

He hadn't felt relief in any form for many years.

"Spike!"

Ed came bounding down the hill, Ein close at her heels.

She had grown.

As she flung her arms around Spike, he noticed to what extent. She was taller now, by at least two inches. Her hair had grown out a bit, though it remained wild and unmanageable.

As she hugged him tighter, he realized she was wearing a sports bra.

It bothered him a bit to see childlike fourteen-year-old Ed under this new light, but a year changes things.

She at least seemed to pick up a few normal habits on Earth.

"Father-person bought Ed more clothes! He also packed Ed's trunk with food for the trip!"

"Trip?"

Her face fell. "Edward is not coming back to Bebop?"

"Oh. That trip. Well, I don't see why not."

"Yay! Edward missed Bebop too much, so Father-person told Edward to get back in touch!"

She still had her ridiculous dialect, but he could dig it.

He found that he could dig a lot more these days.

She began zooming around, her arms outstretched like an airplane before she hugged Spike again.

"Ed, I can't breathe."

She released him instantly. "Oh! I am sorry! I am excited!"

So the third-person reversion to speech was her excitement.

Ed had grown more than he thought.

"Well, let's get started then."

Ed nodded and pulled her trunk to the Swordfish; Spike lifted it into the cockpit.

He had met her on the edge of town, so he decided to trek on foot towards the nearest store; he had to try and pick up any leads he could. Ein hopped onto Ed's head, and they began their search for this mystery plant.

Following close behind him, Ed was clacking away at her Tomato. "Edward believes you should get a car!"

"Why is that, Ed?"

She pointed to a motorcycle speeding off. "Because Faye-Faye and mystery woman said desert flower! The eavesdropping com told me so!"

He blinked at the retreating vehicle.

The woman certainly had style.

"After them! To win the race!" Edward flailed wildly, Ein barking in agreement.

"Swordfish is quicker."

Ed nodded vigorously, and off the trio ran to return to the ship.

He didn't think that through, though. Ein could have stowed easily, but Ed made one passenger too many with her trunk of belongings.

"Edward has tracked Faye-Faye's com!"

Spike, with Ein in his lap and Ed behind him in the tiny space between his seat and the edge of the cockpit, revved the engine. "Where to?"

But Ed had already sent the coordinates.

They were off.

As they approached the cantina, the blue motorcycle parked in front and a group of men shooting amongst themselves, Spike began cursing.

"Move it, pup, I can't reach the controls."

Ein's foot slipped forward.

The plasma cannon fired.

A parked jeep that had slipped by Spike's gaze bounced as the shot blasted two of the men near the bar.

The third was injured.

"Dammit!"

"Bad Ein! No doggie treat for you!"

Ein whimpered.

Spike pulled the Swordfish around to the back of the bar, hopping out to stand on the roof; Ed and Ein followed his lead.

Three women ran from the bar, guns at the ready; one tore into the jeep.

He saw a man fall as Faye's Glock shatter his kneecap.

He had to admit he was a bit impressed by that.

He had taken notice of Mai's combat, her initial kick in much style of his own.

But now she was twirling with madness.

Spike recognized the jive.

He had hoped he'd never seen it again.

The third woman had lobbed a grenade, and another approaching jeep exploded.

He pulled out his Jericho taking shots carefully.

He didn't have many bullets.

And there was another vehicle coming.

"Is there anything you can do, Ed?"

"Edward is on it!"

He saw Faye snipe.

And miss the second shot.

In slow motion, he saw the man pull out his gun.

And without thinking, he lunged from the roof directly to Faye.

He pulled his arms around her, and they rolled, the bullet grazing his sleeve near his shoulder.

He heard Mai yell his name.

And he was hovering over Faye.

She looked like a deer in headlights.

He was starting to sound like Jet.

Any other time he had been in this position, he would have made some witty quip about losing a bet or repaying a debt.

He whispered in her ear, almost inaudibly. "Always in trouble, aren't you?"

He stood up quickly and took a shot at her attacker, watching Mai follow suit.

The third woman claimed the kill.

The fifth jeep was close.

"I'm out of grenades!"

"Allow Edward!" He grinned. 'Atta girl. "Zoom, zoom, click, clack-" she hit the final key, "-BOOM!"

Two men rolled out of the jeep just before the vehicle exploded.

"Edward helped!" Ein was barking, too.

There were five left.

He and Mai exchanged smirks; turning back to back, they were pleased to find that the remainder of men had no remaining bullets.

He fought like he was born again.

She flowed with him nicely.

As they took a simultaneous punch, he grinned beside himself.

He knew he could dig this woman.

"Not bad, cowboy."

"Not too bad yourself, huntress. We make a good team."

"Always happy to oblige."

Ed jumped off the roof to run to the two. "Crazy lady with the fancy moves! Edward is Edward!" She took a deep bow.

Ein jumped from her head and followed suit.

"I'm Mai."

Spike leaned forward, his mouth close to Mai's cheek. "You mind telling me what you've been up to?"

Her eyes were frantic, looking for something.

Spike spotted Faye. She hadn't budged.

He walked to her slowly, and extended his hand to help her up.

He kept his eyes on hers as she stood. 'Didn't think I'd risk life and limb for this.'

He braced himself for the oncoming cascade of insults and expletives she would no doubt send his way.

So he was shocked to hear her say, "You're... Alive."

He grinned wildly. He missed her after all.

"Yo."


	10. 10: Spokey Dokey

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 10: Spokey Dokey**

Slap.

Ouch.

He should have expected it.

Her finger was pointed against his chest, tapping fervently.

"Some nerve you've got! Dead! We thought you were dead! Then you just come waltzing back like nothing's changed; you make your grand Spike entrance; you save the day; you go and save me, and you have the nerve to just say "Yo?" No, "Gee, Faye, sorry I worried the hell out of you guys all this time while I went off to face death for no goddamn reason." No apology! The nerve of you, you-you-"

"Lunkhead?"

"Ugh!"

She stormed into the bar.

Despite the redness on his face from her palm, he was still smirking.

THAT was the Faye he remembered: the shrill-voiced angry woman who wore her heart on her sleeve, the crazed shrew who never gave him an inch.

He missed her.

It was always refreshing to see someone display their emotions so prominently when he couldn't do so.

"Spike?" Mai asked behind him.

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot." She shook her head and followed after Faye.

"Can you believe him?" Faye was sitting on a bar stool, eyes alight with ire and mouth pulled taut.

Mai walked behind the bar. "What'll it be, little lady?"

"The strongest shit you've got."

Mai grinned and poured a glass of whiskey.

Everything else had been lost to bullets and shrapnel.

Faye took a long swig. "I mean, a year and a half, and he pretends like nothing's changed!"

"I knew."

"And then he has the nerve to-" She stopped. "What?"

Mai closed her eyes, crossing her arms. "I knew." She looked a lot like Jet at the moment. Faye found it perturbing.

"You said you never met him."

"I said I didn't meet my husband's younger brother back in the day."

Faye grew eerily silent.

"You're free to slap me, too."

"You didn't lie to me."

Mai blinked.

"You kept it from me, but you didn't outright lie. You didn't say he was dead."

Mai remained stoic.

"He had me believing-"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

Faye blinked this time.

"He never told you he was dead, either."

Faye sipped. "Damn your logic."

"Damn it all indeed."

Faye slammed the glass on the table. "Stop. You're not cryptic with me. You've never been. I don't want this crap from you, too."

Mai remained silent. "You're hurt, Faye. Even if I'm honest right now, it won't make you feel better. At least if I'm indirect, you can interpret what I say as you need to in order to soothe yourself."

"What the hell happened here?"

Jet was standing in the doorway.

Faye downed her drink. "Syndicates and desert flowers and lunkheads."

Jet paled. "About that..." His voice was thick with guilt. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Don't tell me you knew, too?"

Jet didn't move.

"Jet! Really? I can't believe this. I thought maybe your dumb boys club wouldn't matter after all this time of me saving your ass and pulling my weight, but I should have known that nothing changes with that damned green-haired monkey!"

She stomped her feet as she stormed to the storeroom.

She was running out of places to hide.

Mai sighed.

"She mad at you, too?"

"More at the situation. I told her I knew."

"Ah."

"I think we should let her cool off for a bit. We should see about everyone else."

Jet nodded, and they ventured back to the front, a little girl running past them through the door.

"Who was-"

"Momentarily."

Spike was talking with Rose, and the little girl bounded towards them.

"Mama! Your arm! Are you okay?"

Rose looked to her. "I'm fine, little one. It'll heal in no time."

Flora hugged her mother's legs.

Jet looked to them. "Anyone mind filling me in?"

Edward saluted. "Mai-lady and Faye-Faye were following the desert flower so Spike and me and Ein followed! We came here and silver snake men were shooting! Big crazy battle, and now you're here!"

Mai realized that Jet had arrived and entered the bar the moment he found them.

He was worried about Faye.

Such a sense of honor.

"Ed summed it up fairly well," Spike added.

Mai gestured toward Rose. "And this is part of the desert flower."

Rose extended a hand. "Rose Santiago."

Jet took it. He appeared as though he were about to kiss it, but shook it instead. His eyes lingered on hers. "Jet Black."

"Flora!" the little girl yelled excitedly.

"Part?" he then questioned.

Rose nodded. "The other part is in the storeroom."

She led Jet back to the bar, Flora hot on their heels.

"How's Faye?"

Mai raised an eyebrow to Spike. "Hurt. I thought that was apparent."

Spike lit a cigarette. "I thought she was angry."

Mai frowned. "You're awful with people. She reacts with anger because she's hurt."

Maybe she didn't quite wear her heart on her sleeve after all.

Maybe she just wore it differently.

"You're awfully blunt for someone who speaks in riddles."

"I have no need to be indirect for the moment."

"Why is she hurt?"

Mai raised an eyebrow. "You can conquer any enemy in your path, but interpreting human emotion requires finesse you seem to lack."

He went silent.

She couldn't possibly have missed him.

That would require selflessness and care that Faye didn't posses.

Unless she did.

Damn. Mai and the cigarettes were starting to get to him (Paranoid about the shrew's feelings).

He shrugged it off.

Mai walked to join everyone else inside the bar (Ed and Ein had bounded after Jet), so Spike followed suit.

"I've asked Rose and Flora to join us," Jet informed them as they entered.

Mai grinned. "Oh? You're so welcoming, Jet." She stuck her tongue out.

He crossed his arms and have her a stern look. "It's your ship, and you made me captain."

She looked to Rose. "You mean it this time? You'll stop?"

Jet looked between them. Rose smirked a bit. "I'll stop. You can put the thing where it belongs." She handed Mai the box. "I want to spend as much quality time with Flora as I can get." She kneeled down to hug her daughter.

Flora wrapped her arms around her neck. "I love you, mama."

It was the purest bit of emotion the crew had truly seen in a long time.

It was refreshing.

Something sweet and simple in a world of adult complexities.

Interrupting the moment, Ein nudged at Mai.

"Hm?" she looked down at him. "Ein?"

"Oh! You know Ein's name! Do you already know Ein?" Ed asked, intrigue in her eyes.

Mai bent over to pick him up. "You didn't tell me you had a Data Dog as part of the crew."

"Huh?" Jet asked.

He had heard the term; he hadn't heard the definition.

She put him back down and winked at the dog. He panted happily as she scratched his head. "Never mind. Talking out loud."

Jet blinked and looked to Spike, who shrugged and lit himself a cigarette.

"Where are we headed next?" Faye called from the storeroom.

It seemed that Jet, Rose, and Flora had pretended not to notice her for her own benefit.

Mai grinned and walked to the doorway, opening it slowly. "You can't hide forever, doll."

"I can run."

"I wouldn't enjoy that very much."

Faye blew her hair out of her eyes and readjusted her headband. "But with Spike back, everything will go back to normal."

She was crouched on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Mai crouched to her level. "Maybe normal's different, now. I, for one, would hate to see you go."

"But Jet and Spike always stick together, and you two get along so well and work so well and-"

Mai kissed her briefly. "Stop that nonsense. If you run, I'm just chasing you."

And with that, she arose, turned tail and walked out the door.

"What's her issue?" Spike asked.

"An annoying swimming bird."

He ignored her and rolled his gaze.

Faye rejoined them seconds later, a slight pink to her cheeks. Spike looked at her with interest. "I never got an answer," she said to no one in particular.

"We'll have to take to the sky until we figure out where to return this gem," was Jet's response.

Spike was still staring at Faye, the pink to her face completely gone now. He could have sworn she was blushing, but that would be ridiculous.

The shrew didn't know embarrassment.

They exited the bar, and Mai summoned the Mezzo.

The ship hovered before them a few minutes later.

"Oh! This is the new ship! Edward likes!" She flailed her arms happily, and Ein yipped.

"You finished it after all," Rose commented softly.

Mai gave a solemn smile. "I couldn't let the dream die."

Spike and Jet gave her quizzical looks.

Ed clacked at her Tomato, and the Swordfish zoomed into the Mezzo's hangar.

With Mai looking wistfully somber, Faye walked forward and grabbed her hand. "Let's go." She pulled her forward, and she laughed heartily and followed Faye onto the ship.

"What's up with them?" Spike asked.

Edward and Ein were half-traipsing, half-marching up the ramp, Flora twirling next to her mother behind them. Spike had lingered behind with Jet.

"Don't know and have no opinion."

Spike smirked. "Where have I heard that one before?"

"Don't know and have no opinion."

Spike said nothing. He supposed that was the end of that. If Jet wasn't talking, he would have to ask Mai.

Or Faye.

It could be a good opportunity to push her buttons.

He missed that.

She was always so passionate when she was angry. She would throw everything she was into an argument.

No holds barred. No holding back. Faye against the world.

As the ship departed Earth, bound for an adventure unknown, the crew went in separate directions.

Ed and Ein took to making friends with Flora; the trio took to exploring every nook and cranny of the ship.

Jet had stridden past Spike to talk to Rose, offering her a tour of the ship.

_'Always such the gentleman.'_ Spike gave a resigned sigh.

Faye and Mai were nowhere in sight.

Curious, Spike went searching. The ship was even roomier than he imagined, and he could see why Jet was willing to act as Captain.

It was higher technology than the government had.

Or any Syndicate.

He passed the large kitchen, pausing a moment to peek in on a nervous Jet scratching the back of his head, and a giggling Rose holding her hand to her mouth. It was about time Jet meet someone on his level: maternal and macho. Even with all the explosions and firearms, the woman was demure, and he guessed that she was older than Jet.

She was perfect for someone like him.

Ed, Flora, and Ein were in what appeared to be a living room, a large projector television keeping them occupied, sound emanating from every corner. Ed and Flora were playing some virtual reality game, and Ein was napping.

How he could sleep through that noise, Spike would never know.

He passed a door and heard running water like that of a shower.

Well, that was one found.

He kept searching; either woman would work for his question.

He just wanted a straight answer.

As he entered another room, he was pleased to find a gym. He would definitely be in use of this.

Her back was turned to him as she practiced her kata.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm just finishing up; I'll be there in a-" Faye turned. "Oh."

Spike blinked at her.

She didn't mean join Mai in the shower, did she?

"Hey doll, I was waiting-" Mai walked in, stopping at Spike's back.

She was wearing only a towel.

_'A Spike sandwich. Not exactly how I would have pictured a moment like this.'_ He closed his eyes, put a fist to his mouth and coughed politely. "Well, now that the shower is empty, I suppose I'll take my turn."

They watched him walk away, a lingering sense of awkwardness in the air.

The shower had never been colder.

Maybe he didn't have to ask them after all.

Jet said they spent every waking moment together, so why would this time be any different?

Sleep, shower, and meals: they were apparently inseparable.

As he toweled off and slipped into some gym pants, he heard his stomach rumble.

He hadn't had a real solid meal in quite a while, since he was a guest on Mai's couch, now that he was thinking about it. As he headed towards the kitchen, he could hear humming.

It was some bluesy song, but it wasn't Earth. It was much brighter. It reminded him of summer and sunshine. Yeah. It was the sun.

He stepped into the kitchen, the sound causing the singer to turn on her feet. "Oh! It's Spike, right? I saved you a plate of spaghetti." Rose sashayed to the microwave, retrieving a plate.

So Rose was the Sun.

He thanked her and ate heartily.

It was the most amazing meal he had ever consumed.

Maybe even more than Mai's infamous meatloaf.

Rose smiled as she put the dishes up, humming once more.

"What's your story?"

"Single mother of a dangerously ill child who will stop at nothing to protect her."

She didn't miss a beat.

"So you really did kill-"

"You're tactless, you know. Mai was right about that."

"She called me tactless?"

"And indirect. Faye, well, the tigress thinks you're quite a number of things."

"She would think that."

He finished his meal in silence.

He was never the bad guy before, but now he felt singled out.

He thought that with Mai aboard, he would have had some type of cohesiveness.

But she seemed more interested in Faye.

He was actually a little jealous.

Whether or not it was over Faye or Mai, though, he wasn't sure.

Rose left the kitchen with a nod. "Good night, Spike."

"Night."

He decided to do some exploring of his own.

The ship seemed massive, and right now he wanted some sense of normalcy.

He departed for the hangar.

And as he settled onto the old, yellow sofa, his eyelids dropped.

He missed this.

Familiarity.

He thought things would have been somewhat familiar, but so far, the only things he assumed correct were Jet, Ed, and Ein, and even those three were somewhat changed.

Faye was... Different.

He couldn't put his finger on it.

The fact that she was practicing kata and sleeping with women and paying off debts and putting Poker Alice to rest were all so foreign to his memory her.

But they seemed to suit her perfectly.

She still had that spark.

But she seemed stronger.

And weaker.

All at the same time.

He groaned. He didn't return to the Bebop to reminisce over the shrew.

Crash.

He sat up.

He had dozed off.

"Ow."

He walked quietly to the edge of the hallway.

"Spike? Are you in here?"

It was Mai.

"Yo." He walked towards her to help her up. She was rubbing her bottom.

"Damn stairs. I tripped."

He shook his head. The woman was pure grace in battle; she was useless with her guard down.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for you."

He looked at his com from his pocket. "It's 2 in the morning." He extended is hand to her.

"And Faye's finally asleep. She's restless with you around. I didn't think she would ever drift off." She stood up without his assistance, leaving his gesture awkwardly in the air.

His stance stiffened.

So they did sleep together.

"Stop thinking."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For my selfishness."

"What?"

"The homeward dove flies with broken wings."

Bang.


	11. 11: Spokey Dokey Alternate Take

A/N: Chapter 12 will be posted tomorrow since this one is super short.

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 11: Spokey Dokey (Alternate Take)**

Maybe Mai was right.

Maybe this was all just sexual tension.

And anger.

And bitterness.

And jadedness.

And rejection.

Loneliness.

Ah.

That was it.

Faye harrumphed as she rolled over to hug Mai.

She frowned when she saw that she was missing.

Odd.

Faye left the room and wandered the halls.

There wasn't a sign of her anywhere.

A light peeked in from under the hangar doorway.

Faye followed the trail.

Down the stairs and then up the stairs into the Bebop, she followed her gut.

She heard voices.

"What?"

"The homeward dove flies with broken wings."

A thud.

She ran in. "Mai! What's going on?"

Mai was kneeling over Spike, muttering something under her breath. "I'm sorry, brother," Faye heard her whisper.

"Mai!"

She snapped around, her eyes wide and her face pale. "Help me get him to the couch."

Faye, deciding that Mai would give her an answer later, ran to her side. Mai cupped her arms beneath Spike's legs. "Grab his arms."

Faye complied, Spike's head resting in between her breasts as she hooked her arms under Spike's.

They carried him to the couch.

"What the hell happened?"

"I did something selfish, and now I'm questioning it."

"What the hell, Mai?"

"I should have waited. I'm always so awful with timing. I might screw everything up." She sat in the armchair and dropped her head to her hands.

Faye yanked her by the shoulders. "Hey! What gives? What's going on?"

"It's a long story..."

Faye gave her a look of determination. "We've got all night." She lit a cigarette and handed another lit one to Mai. "So tell it."

Mai inhaled deeply. "It starts the way it ended: with the Syndicate."

Faye sat on the couch, and as Mai began speaking, she didn't even realize she had cradled Spike's head in her lap.

"He was only fifteen..."


	12. 12: Memory: Is It Real?

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 12: Memory: Is It Real?**

Darkness.

That's all he could detect.

He opened his eyes.

"Big brother! Wake up! Santa Claus brought us presents!"

Brother?

Santa Claus?

Presents?

He opened his eyes. The world seemed large. Very large, expansive as it were.

"Yay! Roy! Spike's awake!"

Roy?

Mai's Roy?

A teenager walked into the room, brown hair buzzed short and grey eyes twinkling. The brown-eyed girl next to Spike had similar hair.

With a touch of green.

"What's wrong, Spike? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Big Brother! C'mon! We gotta' see what Santa left!"

"Give me a minute, sis!"

Was that his voice? It sounded all wrong. Young. Innocent. Child-like.

He was in a memory.

As soon as the realization dawned on him, he was older.

He felt a sense of loss. Mourning. Pain.

He was in a graveyard. The teenager from earlier was on his left; the little girl was nowhere to be seen. There were two graves in front of him.

He was crying.

He remembered this.

He remembered this dream.

He had it on Venus just recently.

He knelt in front of the graves; his eyes were too blurry to see the names.

The teenager looked older than last time.

"We gotta find her, Spike," he heard him say.

Spike nodded weakly.

As he thought of the memory, it swirled and twisted again.

He was at Mao's steps.

The teenager was behind him.

Spike gathered that the teenager was 17 at this point.

His voiced had deepened.

"You don't have to do this, Spike."

"You won't avenge them or even sis. I have to do this because you're too weak"

Spike felt every bit of 15 that he was at the moment.

"No. You're just angry."

"I don't need your bullshit."

He opened the door to Mao's building.

And everything changed.

He was on an operating table.

"He'll lose that eye, Mao."

"Then give him a new one."

That's right. He knew he was 17 for sure now. He lost his eye in his first major fight for the Syndicate.

Mao got him a new one.

A nice one.

All cybernetic and wires and memories and suppression.

And it dawned on Spike.

His new eye meant the death of his old life.

And those memories.

"When you need them, you will know," he heard Mao whisper in his ear. "The homeward dove flies with broken wings."

He felt the final push.

He was at that church.

He was face to face with gunfire.

He fell to his death.

Julia never came.

Another push.

He was at that church.

He was face to face with Vicious.

Faye was running from the building.

And then he noticed it.

Something he couldn't recall from that time.

He supposed he had been too focused on Vicious to notice the man and woman on the second-floor above where Faye had been held captive.

The man appeared to be the teenager.

His brother.

Or something like that.

And the woman.

That was Mai.

Something was different about her.

She glowed.

He saw her grip his brother's arm. They shared a brief kiss before they dashed in opposite directions, taking shots at Vicious with liberty.

An explosion, and they went flying in separate directions.

And somewhere in all this, Spike died again as he fell from that balcony.

He remembered Faye humming.

The latest push.

He was at that church.

He killed Vicious. He remembered all this now.

He walked down those steps.

And he died his fourth time.

He had never met the woman who carried him.

Not until he awoke on her couch.

When she was humming the blues.

The blues for his brother.

Spike was swirling in these memories.

Swimming. Drowning.

"Is it real?"

That was Mai.

"You told me the past doesn't matter."

That was Faye.

"Maybe you'll know. Maybe you'll find him."

When did Mai say that?

He must have been asleep.

On her couch.

And his eyes shot open.

He looked at her, with her face pale and eyes heavy.

Faye's hands were on his back.

He had been in her lap.

He focused on Mai.

"We need to talk..."

He paused.

"...Mai Spiegel."


	13. 13: Pushing the Sky

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 13: Pushing the Sky**

Everything was falling into place.

And Spike was determined to straighten things out before his memories slipped through his head again.

"You knew who I was the whole time."

"I thought that was apparent when I called you by your full name when you awoke upon my couch."

Judging by the lack of reaction in Faye, he assumed that Mai had already revealed how he returned to life this time.

"I thought it was because of Mao. "

"You never asked."

He grit his teeth as he sat up further, and Faye shifted nervously behind him.

"That's not a good enough answer, dammit!" He slammed a fist on the coffee table.

Mai, collected and cool, stood from her chair. She knelt next to the couch and grabbed his face, her palms flat on his cheeks. Her hands were cold. "You give me a better one, then, Spike."

She was piercing his gaze.

Something was off.

She was different from his memory of her.

No glow. No twinkle in her eyes.

Her odd, he realized now, eyes.

Two shades of brown.

Like his.

"You live in the dream, too."

"Is it real?" she asked.

She was pleading with him.

He chuckled. He felt Faye shiver. "You tell me, Mai. Is it real?"

"Do you remember then, Spike? Where he is? Or anything?"

"I remember you now. In that church."

Her eyes went wide.

"What church?" Faye asked. Her voice was strong, but her subtle shaking revealed her concern.

That wasn't the reaction he expected. Mai told Faye everything.

"So you don't remember that?" he asked Mai, unsure of whether or not he really wanted to know the answer.

"There's a lot I don't remember. I woke up in a hospital a year and a half ago."

And the pieces kept falling into place.

And Faye realized it this time. "You were there on Mars. In that church..."

"What are you talking about?" Mai asked. She looked worried.

Too many things were unraveling at once.

Bang.

The Mezzo shook, and the Bebop followed.

"What the hell?" they yelled in unison.

"Spike! Mai! Faye! Any of you! Answer your coms!"

Mai snapped out of her reverie.

"What the hell, Jet? What the fuck just hit my ship!" she screamed.

"I don't know! Get the hell out there and find out!"

Mai grit her teeth before making a mad dash to leave the Bebop and board the Blues.

Faye and Spike were hot on her heels.

No one was dressed for combat. Faye and Mai were in shorts and tank tops.

Spike didn't even have a shirt on.

No one would be getting any sleep.

All three crafts took off, and Jet videocommed instantly.

"What were you three up to?"

"No good," Mai said without missing a beat. She got her spark back. The thrill of battle seemed to do that.

"Never mind that! What the hell is out there?"

"Some punks fighting it out. It looks like we were just caught in the crossfire," Spike responded.

The Red Tail veered left to avoid an incoming plasma missile. "I don't think so!"

Sure enough, one of the ships involved in the dogfight was aiming right for the Bebop crew, the Mezzo included.

The silver zip craft looked like some strange cross between the Red Tail and the Hammerhead, with a round cockpit towards the front, a long body, and two heavy arms on either side full of machine guns.

It zoomed towards Mai.

Over the video feed, the team saw her grin, her teeth glinting like fangs. "You wanna' fight? We'll fight." She shot the Blues towards it.

"So the beast rears its ugly head." The other pilot made his presence known.

The spitting image of Vicious.

"Victor! You bastard!" Mai shot her cannon.

Swerve.

The other ship, a deep red mono-racer (it was almost a crimson, much deeper than the Swordfish II), identical in shape to the Blues, sped towards the zip craft; the silver stripe, which was opposite the Blues' stripe, blurred.

It was built for speed.

And something else.

As quick as it was, Spike and Faye could tell it was meant more for packing punches than winning races.

A flicker of light emitted from the ship.

"Goddammit!" Victor snarled as his video feed fading in and out of static.

Mai hadn't noticed the other ship before.

"Fucking parasite with your damn tricks!" Victor yelled.

Mai snarled this time. "You want tricks?" She fired again.

"He's got friends! Stay on your guard!" Jet yelled.

"Jet! Have Ed get me an open com to that other ship! And the Mezzo's got cannons, in case you didn't know!"

"Mai, you love your damn toys," Jet half-chuckled, half-groaned.

"Edward is on the job!" Ein barked in the background, as if to offer his assistance as well.

Faye and Spike had split from Mai in separate directions to take on different sets of zip crafts.

Silver snakes adorned them.

"These punks are fast!" Faye yelled.

Her aptitude with her gun and fists had gotten better.

Her aptitude with the Red Tail was another story.

"Just hold them off! This fucker is mine!" Mai was seeing red again.

Spike was shooting down ship after ship, spinning to assist Faye when he could.

They were severely outnumbered.

"Mai-Mai! Edward cannot hack into that ship! It is built like the Mezzoooooo!"

The Mezzo fired a large plasma blast at Faye's group; only four of them remained.

"These cannons are serious overkill!" Jet yelled.

"That's how she rolls," Rose commented.

"Thanks, Jet!" Faye knew she could handle the remaining four with no problem.

"What about Ein?" Mai asked. She then she comprehended Ed's words. "Wait! What do you mean built like the Mezzo?"

"Edward cannot hack the Mezzo!"

"Why not?"

"Edward thought you were hacking her out of it!"

Spike was down to three.

"I couldn't hack my way out of a paper bag."

Everyone went silent for a brief second.

"Then who?" the Bebop crew asked in unison. They were syncing a lot these days.

She smirked. "The Rhythm."

"What?" Faye asked.

"That other ship belongs to the greatest hacker I've ever known." She was full on beaming now. "I bet you anything he's been bumping you off the Mezzo's tracks since day one."

"Who?"

"That damn Spiegel!" Victor yelled, tired of their banter.

His resemblance to Vicious was uncanny, but his attitude was far different.

He was a loose cannon.

Vicious was a methodical machine.

"Which one?"

Three voices.

Spike and Mai paused.

"Roy?" she asked tentatively.

No video feed.

But she could hear him.

"Miss me, muse?"

She took off towards the other ship like a bat out of hell. "Pull that trigger again! That EMP was always so badass."

She could practically hear him smirk.

"This guy's good," Faye said.

Spike was a bit jealous.

Roy was a real class act.

Another burst of light from around the Rhythm shook the sky.

Victor's video feed went dead.

"Nailed it!" Mai exclaimed.

The cockpit of Victor's ship departed the body and headed straight for Earth.

A collective groan.

"Dammit!" Mai yelled.

He was too small a target and too far away to be shot down or pursued.

Spike shot his last three and turned to help Faye.

She had one left.

Bang.

End of that.

The Rhythm and Blues were facing each other.

"I'm sorry, love," Mai heard.

"Roy..."

"I'm not quite done."

"Don't you dare!"

He cut the feed and zoomed away from Earth and the Mezzo.

"Goddammit!" She started to speed after him, but he left a pulse in his wake.

It pushed the sky; her ship halted mid acceleration.

The velocity moved the Blues only slightly.

She slammed a fist against the console. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Each word was punctuated with a slam.

A dead fish in the water, she waited for the Mezzo to rescue her.

Her ship regained electrical usage as it settled into the hangar.

Faye was running to her before she landed; Spike was close behind.

"Was that... Roy?" Faye asked warily.

They already knew the answer.

Mai looked up and gave a somber smile. "It's always a damn Spiegel."


	14. 14: No Reply

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 14: No Reply**

She had tried the com channel for over an hour from the control console of the Mezzo.

Faye was ready to call intervention.

This wasn't the Mai she knew.

Spike was silent on the matter.

He was still absorbing memories.

Jet and Rose took to distracting Edward and Flora from the commotion.

Faye exhaled a ring of smoke. "So that's your brother..."

"I guess so." Spike took a long drag. He was on pack two, and it was pack two of the night.

"You and Mai..." she trailed off.

"I could say the same thing."

They wanted to fight, argue, scream, and yell; they wanted to insult each other, pull hair, throw punches, and even bite.

They wanted their normalcy back.

They needed it. It would soothe their nerves.

But they knew at the present moment, their attempts would be in vain from shock of the stories unraveling around them.

"A real class act, huh?"

"Or a jerk." Faye shoved the butt of her cigarette into the ashtray.

She opened pack three.

They were both glad Mai kept them in such high stock.

"Yeah."

"Must run in the family."

He glared. "You don't know me, Faye."

"Until four hours ago, you didn't know you."

Normalcy.

"Yeah? Well, I'm doing better than you."

"Ass."

"Shrew."

"Jerk."

"Enough." Mai's voice was strong.

She was standing in the doorway of the Bebop's living room, her eyes determined and her hands on her hips.

They stared at her: Faye with guilt, Spike with annoyance.

"We're headed to Callisto," Mai said matter-of-factly.

Spike sobered immediately, and Faye's eyes glazed as she recalled her last visit to the barren moon.

"Jet and Ed just caught wind of a huge bounty-head out there, Elizabeth Stanfield."

"That woman serial killer?" Faye asked, thankful to have Spike silent for the time being.

"Yeah. Likes killing couples and taking off with their money."

Now Spike was interested. This bounty sounded like a perfect chance to blow off some steam.

And get the dynamic back to a comfortable level.

"You and Faye are the muscle on this one; I'm running back-up, and Ed is keeping surveillance. Jet's gotta patch up the ships, so we'll have to make due this way "

"WHAT?" they yelled in unison.

That was starting to get old.

"Jet said it would be a good idea to get the team back up to speed." Mai half-grinned.

"What about-"

Mai interrupted Faye. "He knows where to find me; I just have to trust that he'll make sense of everything later."

Star-crossed lovers.

Spike gave a resolved "humph" and arose from the couch. He left wordlessly, tossing a hand in the air as a gesture of farewell.

"Lunkhead," Faye seethed under her breath.

"Something like that," Mai agreed as she sunk into the couch next to Faye. She seemed tired, more so than a 28-year old woman should be.

"So that was Roy."

"Yeah..." Mai paused a moment and then leaned over to drop her head to Faye's shoulder. She curled her knees to her chest, and hugged them.

Faye pulled an arm around her, gripping her waist lightly.

She was glad for this comfort.

Both of them were.

As Mai nodded off, Faye finished her last cigarette and did the same. They fell asleep comfortably on the old, yellow couch.

Mai deadened.

Faye dreamed.

Remembered, really.

She had been dealt a long evening, and her mind was still processing and calculating the day's events to make sense of the chaos.

"He was only fifteen when he wound up at my father's office."

"Spike?"

"Yeah. Dad used to talk about "his favorite son" when he would refer to him. He had so much tenacity, anger really, but dad learned how to help him channel it productively. The first two years he was in the Syndicate, he trained relentlessly, and dad even let him run side-by-side with the older members."

"I see."

"Vicious was quite a bit older than us. He would have been 34 this year, I believe. Father had him mentor Spike for a while." Mai inhaled deeply and let the smoke fill her lungs for longer than usual. "He's the reason Spike lost that eye... And his memories."

Faye took a long hit this time, floating higher each second.

"On his first major mission, he was to kill a rival Syndicate Red-Eye dealer. It went smoothly, but Vicious has always had a certain desire for staying top dog. He didn't like the favoritism Spike held. He paid a thug to overdose him with Red-Eye, get his nerves jacked to the point that he couldn't use them. Vicious disguised himself as a rival Syndicate member to corner Spike." Mai finished off her cigarette and looked to the ground. "It turns out that the batch was a wash, and the guy had shaky hands. The needle went through Spike's pupil, and the bad batch went right into the organ." She chuckled melancholically. "Spike killed him, bare-handed. Vicious dropped the incognito bit, helped Spike out of the place, and got him back to Mao, hoping that it was enough to either lose Mao's favoritism or lose his ability to work for the Syndicate." She looked up, her fingers intertwined under her chin. "It did neither. Father funded a new eye for his favorite son, impressed by his abilities, prowess, and work. With all that nerve damage, though, dad decided to take it a step further." She leaned back and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "Spike had a past he had been handling his entire time. He suffered from night terrors and bouts of insomnia. Father didn't want him to suffer from the loss of his parents and sister, and he felt that, if he locked those memories away, Spike could remember them later if the need ever arose. The phrase he "programmed" signified a bird flying home when it could no longer fly."

"A dead bird?"

"A ghost. A memory. A flicker of hope in a broken soul."

"The homeward dove flies on broken wings."

"So you heard that."

"Yea, but why force him to remember all that now?"

"Spike has no clue who I am. Since the day I found him on those church steps and nursed him back to health, I knew exactly who he was. Even though I had never met him face to face, he looked so much like Roy... And father talked about that mess of green hair endearingly. He really saw Spike as his son."

Faye went quiet, her eyes shut and her mouth taut. "That's how you knew he was alive. You saved him."

"Yeah."

Faye remained stoic.

Mai half sighed and half groaned. "I'm sorry, Faye. I shouldn't have kept it from you, but my situation was... complicated at the time."

And that's when Spike woke up.

Faye woke from her dream.

Someone was in the room with them.

She and Mai had shifted to a lying position, Mai cradled around Faye and Faye's arm around Mai's waist.

"You two should really get back to the Mezzo."

It was Jet. He was giving her a mixed look of embarrassment and curiosity.

"Why?" She whispered. She didn't want to wake Mai. She was happy that she was peacefully asleep.

"I'm sure a bed is more comfortable than this ragged thing."

"And it's also his ship, and he doesn't quite feel he can trust me completely yet," Mai concluded, her eyes still closed and her face still buried in the crook of Faye's neck.

"To be honest, I trust you. I don't trust your judgment."

Mai opened her eyes, smiled, kissed Faye's neck, and sat up. "Fair enough, old man. We should get to our bed anyway. You're right. This thing feels like a rock with fabric."

She stood from the couch and extended a hand to help Faye up. Jet shook his head as the two bid him good night (morning) and left hand-in-hand for bed.

"Our bed?"

"Huh?" Mai was dozing as they walked.

"It's not your bed?"

Mai smiled contentedly. "The bed I shared with Roy is in a different room. He and I had a different room entirely, actually."

Faye stopped. "What is this?" she finally asked.

Mai turned to face her. "I thought we decided on that answer already."

"But now, I don't know, it feels... Different. I mean, you know Roy's alive, and Spike's back, and-"

Mai kissed her. "I knew Roy was alive. I knew in my gut he was out there somewhere. If you're strong enough now that you don't need this, though, that I can understand." They had stopped at their door.

Faye was silent as Mai opened the door.

"It's not... Wrong?"

Mai faced her again. "What? Leaning on each other for support?"

"It's more than that."

Mai shrugged. "It is what it is."

Faye kissed her this time. "Let's just go to bed."

"Sure thing, doll."

Spike couldn't sleep. He'd been tossing and turning since he left the Bebop, and he heard the two women sidling into bed in the room beside him a long time after that.

It made his head spin.

He would have liked to ask Faye about it.

He thought he'd get an answer out of Mai, but he was too irritated with her to bother.

At least he knew how to push Faye's buttons.

All of them, especially the right ones.

He groaned.

He couldn't possibly be thinking that.

Then again, he'd been alive for months and the lack of sexual release was starting to wear on him.

His com rang.

Unknown.

Before he could decide on his next course of action, a voice sounded from the device.

"No reply. Hm. But tell me, what is it about blue?"

He picked up the com immediately. "There's something about blue."

"Well then, I suppose I have some answers for you."

"I'm listening."

"One stipulation of this."

"I don't make deals."

"Then no dice."

"Well, at least let me make you feel like I've considered the notion."

"You don't tell Mai."

Spike smirked. "Oh? Cold feet, brother?"

"Not at all, but I'll explain if you make that promise."

"And you can trust me why?"

"Because the homeward dove..."

"Flies with broken wings," Spike finished. "Deal. Speak."


	15. 15: American Money

A/N: Sorry for the late update! My college courses started up, and I went through a layoff, new job, and vacation all in the span between last update and now. Expect another chapter tomorrow, as this chapter is pretty short!

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 15: American Money**

They arrived at Callisto in better spirits than they had been. The ships were good and stocked, Rose's home-cooked meals at the dinner table had gotten progressively less awkward for the group, Mai and Faye had continued their "isn't but is" relationship, and Spike had gotten back into a groove and out of his rut.

Normalcy.

Faye and Spike still fought like hell.

Ed was still deranged, and she had brought Flora in on her antics.

Rose was having a hell of a time trying to get Flora to quit speaking in third-person. ("Flora likes speaking this way, Mama-lady!")

The "twenties" trio (Faye, Spike, an Mai) was taking bets on when Jet would finally get the nerve to ask Rose on an actual date.

Jet was still the boss.

"We won't be docking, and I think it's best we wait a day before we pursue this one," Jet concluded as they entered Callisto's orbit. "You guys remember the plan?"

Mai, Faye, and Spike were all sitting opposite Jet in the large bio-dome. Mai was cross-legged, smoking and sitting almost meditatively. Faye was leaning her back against Mai's shoulder as she stretched her legs forward and cheated at poker with Spike. Spike was on his 8th cigarette of the morning, and he was cross-legged and tense. A rock between Faye and him served as a poker table.

"Yes, Jet," Faye answered. Her annoyance at being Spike's arm candy for this mission was more than apparent.

"We chat up Elizabeth, coax her into changing venues for something more personal, walk her out, wham, bam, thank you ma'am," Spike dictated.

He wasn't looking forward to this either.

Normally, finesse in the form of disguise was not their method of capture.

But Elizabeth was tricky.

Her rap sheet was a mile-long, and she had a very particular method of choosing victims. Considering this was Callisto, there was no way of taking her down in a crowd. The bounty-heads were plenty in these parts, and no one liked a narc.

"Mai will be on standby on top of the bar, and Ed will keep surveillance via the invisible Blues' video camera."

"Full house," said Spike, and he laid down his hand, ignoring the end of Jet's recap.

"Four of a kind."

"Bullshit!"

Jet put a hand to his head. "Kids..." He left them to their antics and exited.

"Let me have a go," Mai interjected as she shifted to see the game.

"You want in?" asked Faye.

"Yeah."

Faye dealt. Three hands, three players.

Mai tossed in a cigarette. "There's my bet."

"So you play for keeps?" Spike asked. He was just glad to get Faye off his ass; maybe Faye would cheat them both. Or maybe she would cheat them neither.

"Always."

Faye threw in a cigarette.

So did Spike.

And the games began.

They played well past lunch, almost to dinner.

Faye hadn't cheated since Mai joined the game.

Spike was winning.

He had three packs of cigarettes (Mai's brand and one elusive nicotine pack that he won back from Faye three hands ago), 100 Woolongs, a bottle of whiskey, and a pin-up of last year's Miss Galaxy (from Mai).

Faye was down to 20 Woolongs, a six-pack, and three cigarettes.

Mai was down to nothing.

"You're out," Spike said.

"Not quite." She threw her jacket on the pile. "I play for keeps."

The look on Spike's face wrangled laughter out of Faye. She also threw her jacket down.

It then dawned on Spike that Faye wore herself differently. With a maroon v-neck tank and tight black pants, she still flaunted, but he was glad to see the yellow stripper set gone.

She looked deadlier this way.

And Mai's ensemble of leather pants and a red halter-top made her seem all the Syndicate woman she was without the snobbish appeal.

She seemed deadly, too.

So Spike's expression, a mixture of concern and intrigue, was masked only by his quick wit. "So do I."

He threw his jacket on top of the pile.

He had dropped his old attire, too. Grey button-up shirt, black slacks, and a heavy bomber jacket.

Classic, but not overdone.

"So what have you got?" he asked.

"Wait," Mai stopped him. "You didn't up the ante."

"Fine," he answered. He threw his shirt in for good measure.

Faye blushed very briefly, and Mai smirked. Faye made a mental note to yell at Mai about this later.

"Okay then, ladies. What have you got?"

Faye went first. "Full house."

"Your loss, Faye. Straight flush."

As Spike threw his arms around the pile, Mai placed her cards in front of her. "Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and," she paused to flip the last card over, "Ace. All hearts." She smirked at Spike. "I do believe a Royal Flush beats your straight."

He dropped his jaw a bit.

Faye was in hysterics.

Mai picked up the pile and proceeded to her room, a shirtless Spike and a giddy Faye in her wake.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Mai won."

"She'd been losing the whole game!"

"On purpose! You didn't see that?"

Spike thought that answer over. Come to think of it, she did over-bet on poor hands. He just thought she wasn't the greatest of players: a risky gal with money to burn. "She's some kind of devil, that woman," he groaned.

"The best kind there is, cowboy," Faye laughed.

He couldn't help but smile.

For once he lost fair and square.


	16. 16: LIVE in Baghdad: Butterfly

**Bebop Blues - Chapter 16**

**LIVE in Baghdad: Butterfly**

Faye and Spike were not on speaking terms, and it was making the mission a bit difficult.

Some argument over exact details, and Faye ran ahead of him, venturing to the bar two hours ahead of schedule to cool off.

Mai had followed her, of course, and was camped on the roof.

Faye decided a few drinks would calm her nerves; she knew better than to let too lose, though. Callisto was still a world of men. The bartender brought her a whiskey, and she sipped lightly and politely. The cellist played a somber blues, and she closed her eyes to sway with the music.

She sneezed some time after it ended.

"Take care."

She looked up to see the cellist sitting beside her, beckoning the bartender for a drink himself. He was a tall man, taller than Spike. He was thin, but lean, and his grey eyes left her a bit mesmerized.

The déjà vu was oddly comforting.

"I'm already a fairy," she answered.

"Oh? I wasn't aware, though with those eyes and hair, I'm not too surprised." He took a swig. "You're a brave woman, venturing into this neck of the woods on your own."

"And you want to protect me, right?" Her tone was playful annoyance, and she sighed a bit for good measure.

He shook his head. "I can see you don't need it. Just thought I'd give you some polite company."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what does that mean?"

He took another sip and lit himself a cigarette, the marijuana variety. "It means I just want someone to talk to, not a bedmate."

She smirked. "And I can trust you?"

He shrugged. "Just have a little faith."

She liked this guy. Smooth-talker, easy on the eyes, and a musician to boot.

Yeah, Mai had made a hippie out of her.

They chatted as patrons eyed them warily. Small talk. Normal talk. The world's troubles and liquor and patrons around them and women and men and lunkheads. He returned to his stage for a few numbers here and there between bits of conversation. Nothing but blues and small talk. It lifted Faye's spirits.

Normalcy wasn't a mode she was afforded often.

After an hour and a half, Faye's earpiece sounded. "She's headed your way, Faye-Faye!" Ed whispered.

There was no sign of Spike.

The cellist sat next to her again, his song having ended. "You look concerned."

"I was waiting for my fr- boyfriend, but he hasn't shown up for some reason." She almost let her cover slip.

"Green hair, brown eyes?" he asked with a raised brow.

Her eyes went wide. Her earpiece sounded. "Faye! She's outside! Spike's talking her up!" Mai was whispering.

She swore the cellist heard that. His posture stiffened instantly.

He winked when he noticed her unease. "Some other time, pixie "

Faye, torn between giving him a piece of her mind and running after the bounty, didn't have a second to think.

Elizabeth and Spike burst through the door in a heated flurry of fists and feet.

"Spike! What the hell?" Faye yelled.

"Well, well. You ARE a pretty one," Elizabeth purred as she licked her lips.

Spike kicked her leg aside and tripped her; various men in the bar aimed their guns for Spike.

He wasn't one to harm a lady, but whatever this woman said to him was enough to get his blood boiling.

No one liked a narc.

"Dammit, Spike!" Faye dove to him, and they rolled, dodging a hail of bullets. "Jackass! You could have been killed!" They were scrambling out the door.

"You ran off without me!"

"You didn't stick to the plan!"

"Dammit, you two!" Mai yelled. She shimmied down the fire escape. "What the hell was that?"

"It was her/his fault!" they screamed.

Elizabeth ran after them, and the four stood in front of the bar. "And who's this little number?" she asked, jutting her chin towards Mai.

As the men piled out of the bar, guns loaded, Mai parted her feet, crossed her arms, stared Elizabeth dead in the eye and said one solitary sentence, "They call me Miss Dragon."

Silence.

Even this far to Callisto, she was well known.

Elizabeth's shock was quickly pushed aside. "Oh? Them's big words for a small girl. You sure you ain't nothin' but talk, hon?"

Mai smirked. "Gimme a go, then."

Elizabeth licked her lips again. "Gladly."

She lunged for Mai, and Mai retaliated, dodging punches and kicks. As she continued her dodging for a few minutes, Elizabeth became worn. "Damn squirrel! Hold still!" She fired her berretta without warning.

Towards Faye.

Mai's eyes went wide, and Spike yanked Faye towards him just as the bullet flew through a few strands of her hair. She landed against him, her hands flat against chest.

The red was back, and Mai lunged at Elizabeth. "You said you wanted a fight, you little bitch?"

Elizabeth's grin soon turned into a look of horror as the men around her stood back.

"I'll show you why they call me a dragon!" Mai was clawing at her, and she got progressively more aggressive with each second. As one man tried to help, he learned the extent of Mai's anger. Several more men, fueled by booze and testosterone flung themselves into the fray.

Bullets seemed to miss her in her current state.

She twisted and turned, landing punch after punch, dodging gunshots, and digging her nails into flesh.

Faye and Spike stood motionless as a few of the smarter men finally backed themselves against the building wall.

Mai stood, hunched over a bloodied and whimpering Elizabeth, and growled at the remaining men. "Anyone else want to question who the fuck they think I am?" she snarled.

They scampered.

Her chest was still heaving with breath; her fingers were still outstretched like claws, and her pupils were still dilated.

From inside the bar, a song started playing.

Spike recognized the tune. It was the song Mai was humming when he woke up. He always thought of it as Earth.

Home.

Her posture changed instantly; her shoulders recoiled, and her arms fell limp to her sides.

"M-Mai?" Faye asked warily. She was still pressed against Spike.

Mai pirouetted to face them.

Tears were streaming down her face. "Sorry about that. I don't quite know what came over me." She laughed a bit and smudged the back of her hands against her cheeks, as a cat would grooming its face.

The music had stopped.

She seemed lost.

"We should turn her in now, I think. You two can handle it from here." She quivered as she attempted a smile before turning and walking towards the invisible Blues.

Elizabeth was still whimpering.

Faye was still flush against Spike.

"Faye?"

"Yeah?"

"The bounty."

She flew back as though she had touched hot coal, and nodded, a slight blush tinging her cheeks. She turned to cuff the crying Elizabeth.

"She's mad... That woman is mad..." Elizabeth sobbed.

"You're mistake was taking a shot at me," Faye informed her as she pulled her to her feet.

Elizabeth was still sobbing as they pulled her into the Hammerhead, courtesy of Jet to help the mission go smoother. Spike hopped in to pilot as Faye sat behind him, watching Elizabeth intently as she sat cross-legged across from her.

"What's your story, then?" the bounty asked. She had regained her nerves as they left the atmosphere.

"We're bounty hunters. Nothing more to it," Faye answered.

"Running around with Miss Dragon?"

"Yup."

"I don't buy it. She's a Syndicate Princess. What's a her real end game?"

"Her Zen," Faye quipped.

The glare from Elizabeth was proof enough that Faye had won the argument for now.

They spent the remainder of the trip in silence.

Once they reached the Mezzo, they gave Jet the honor of taking Elizabeth in for the bounty.

70 million woolongs split four ways.

Mai didn't want her share; she gave it to Ed. "For surveillance assistance," she told her. Faye, Spike, and Jet were happy with their gain, if a bit forlorn by Mai's demeanor.

After Faye relayed the story of the capture on Callisto, the entire crew gave her space. Faye was the only one that Mai seemed to garner a reaction towards.

"What was that, on Callisto?" Faye finally asked as they sat against the large tree.

It had been a few weeks, and there had been a few more bounties to capture. Spike, Faye, Jet and Rose seemed to handle them in shifts, though Rose mostly acted as back up. She didn't want to risk leaving Flora without a mother.

"Spike hasn't told you?" Mai seemed a bit surprised.

"He would know?"

"Ask him sometime, about his first fight, and how he killed that man bare-handed."

Faye remained silent.

"I'm just... coping, at the moment. I'll be fine."

"You need a vacation."

Mai chuckled. "I'm just tired. I feel like I'm grasping at the edges of reality here."

"Talk."

Mai blinked at her.

"You made me do it when we met. I can even go grab some liquor if you want. We can talk all night, and I can finally have a picture of the man who tamed Miss Mai Dragon."

"One bottle of liquor wouldn't be enough."

"Well, why don't we take a vacation then? We've got more than enough. Hell, the boys can handle business while we're gone, and Jet can rope Spike into babysitting so he can get some time with Rose."

"A vacation..." Mai mulled the thought over seriously. "You know what? That sounds just like the thing."

"It's a date, then," Faye said as she stood up and held out her hand.

Mai laughed warmly. "A date."


	17. 17: Felt Tip Pen

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 17: Felt Tip Pen**

Spike was babysitting.

It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he was somehow guilted into doing just that while the young women were away on "vacation."

Jet wanted to take Rose on a proper date, and who was Spike to cock-block his comrade?

He was only watching Flora for the evening, but Spike was sure that there would be more of this in the future.

Maybe Mai was good with kids.

He laughed internally at the idea of Faye babysitting. The woman could barely take care of herself, much less a kid, and she was too selfish for even attempting it.

The two women had gone to Io for their vacation. Terraforming had recently finished construction, and there was a grand opening of malls, casinos, and fake beaches.

It was Faye territory.

Spike gathered that Mai was into venues less energetic, but she seemed to enjoy Faye's happiness; the women had taken off in their separate ships earlier that morning.

Spike thought he might like to venture out once Jet and Rose relieved him of Flora-duty.

The little girl was an angel, though. She was well behaved, if a bit hyperactive (he blamed Edward for that), and considering her age, he was more a chaperone than a babysitter. She was very mature and independent for a 6-year old.

Spike had forgotten to pay too close attention for this very reason, and began dozing off in a hammock near the large tree.

Crash!

He bolted upright and flipped off the hammock, thankful there was no shrew or hippie to laugh at his predicament. He ran towards the source of the noise (the kitchen) to find the remnants of a large glass bowl on the floor.

Flora and Ed were looking up at him with innocent eyes.

Ein was licking the floor near the bowl.

"What are you doing?" he asked, thankful there was no injury. He shuddered internally to see what the Desert Flower would do to him if her little seedling were injured under his care.

"Making dinner!" Edward proclaimed.

Flora was shying behind her. "Mama said no instant noodles, so Edward and I were trying to make spaghetti," she answered quietly.

You had to appreciate the kid's honesty.

And her grammar usage.

"I'll make spaghetti," he responded.

How hard could it be?

Thirty minutes and three packs of noodles later and he discovered just how hard it could be.

He had Edward clean up the glass from the floor with a broom and dustpan while he cursed over under-cooked noodles and bubbling tomato sauce.

Flora pulled a stepstool to the stove and stood upon it, leaning forward to look into the cooking pots. Instead of saying anything, she climbed upon the kitchen island to grab a few things from the overhanging pot rack.

"Flora, you shouldn't stand on the counter," Spike chastised. He did his best impression of Jet he could.

No dice.

"Here! Mama cooks noodles in this, and sauce in this!" She handed him a large pot with a matching colander along with a saucepan. "She keeps her homemade sauce in the jar in the fridge, and she cooked meat already. She put it in a container and left it in the microwave."

Jet better marry the woman.

You had to appreciate a mother who thought of everything.

He dumped the meat into the saucepan along with the jar of heavenly scented sauce.

The noodles cooked much more smoothly this time, and dinner was done before too long.

He served three bowls and opened a can of wet dog food for Ein.

"Bon Appétit," he said, and the three of them dug in.

"Not bad, Spike!" Edward exclaimed.

Flora was beaming. "Mama would be proud."

"Well she did all the hard work."

Since when did he get so humble?

Granted, he was more confidence than ego, but he could have at least taken credit for the effort.

The girls put their dishes in the sink, and Spike grabbed himself a book to read. The three and Ein travelled to the dome where the girls ran through the grass and played tag.

Ein took a nap near Spike's hammock, and Spike read his book, peeking from the corners intermittently to verify that the girls were still alive and happy.

He caught them yawning around 9:30, and he ushered them into their beds.

"Pajamas and teeth," he said. They complied without hesitation, and they were asleep the moment they were in bed.

Spike returned to his hammock. Ein had since left to sleep with Ed.

He read his book, dozing in and out of slumber.

"Oi, Spike-o," Jet called, gently shaking Spike's shoulder.

"Huh?"

Jet gave him a thumbs-up. "Not bad. They're sleeping soundly."

"And they're fed," Spike concluded. He threw his legs over the side of the hammock and walked over to Rose. He put his hands on her shoulders. "If Jet doesn't marry you, he's an idiot."

She laughed. "You found the spaghetti."

"Your daughter informed me."

She laughed again. "I told you he'd be fine, Jet."

Jet scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "We're off to bed. We're thinking of heading to Io tomorrow with the girls. The theme park opens tomorrow."

"Have fun with that." He began the trek to his room, waving an arm to Jet and the future Mrs. Black (it was only a matter of time) as he departed.

He had just flopped to his mattress when his com rang.

"Yeah?"

"You feel up for a game of pool?" It was Mai.

"I thought you and Faye had plans."

"It's... Complicated," she worded carefully.

He could hear cursing and screaming in the background. Something along the lines of "Get your hands off of me; I'm just walking here, you jackass."

"Drunk?"

"And angry." Mai sighed. "Should have cut her off an hour ago. We had a rather unpleasant run-in with some drunken chauvinists, and she flew off the handle."

"You sound sober."

"I don't drink, not in the drunk sense, at least. A social whiskey and I'm good. I'm a lightweight to begin with."

Spike began putting on his boots as he talked. "Where are you guys now?"

"I rented out the Presidential Suite at the Casablanca. I figured since the rest of the crew were coming down, we could all have a central location."

He whistled. "Expensive venture."

"Yeah. This thing has the works."

"I'll join you for pool, but no place swanky. It would ruin my style."

She laughed. "The Bronze Square. Hole in the wall bar not too far from here. I'll send you coordinates."

He could hear Faye yelling in the background. "And Faye?"

"She'll be passed out before too long. She's been throwing stuff at the bellboy; he was helping me wrangle her back to our room."

"Gotcha. See you in a bit, then."

It didn't take long for Spike to get there; they were orbiting Jupiter close to its current location.

He parked his Swordfish at the hotel (he may as well have a mini-vacation of his own) and walked to the bar on foot.

She really meant hole in the wall.

He pulled up a bar stool and ordered some bourbon. He wanted to start the night off right.

"Whiskey, on the rocks. And a vodka cranberry on standby," a voice said from behind him.

The bartender nodded to her.

Mai sat next to Spike. "That woman can hold her liquor like no one else," she sighed.

"I thought you weren't a drinker?"

"I'm not. I need it."

He laughed. "Can I get a light?"

She handed him her Zippo.

They drank in silence and took their second round to the closest pool table.

Spike broke.

They played as they drank, enjoying solace and the sound of the stories around them.

"So, what's with you and Faye showering together?" Spike finally asked. Four rounds of pool and six drinks for Mai. He felt he waited long enough.

She scratched the velvet on the table.

"Oi!" the bartender called.

"Sorry! I'll pay for it!" She glared at Spike dramatically. "What's it to you?"

"You two seem close."

"Closer in some ways than you two, further in others."

He gave her a confused look before taking his turn. "I don't follow."

"You think she hadn't told me about your escapades? I hear well-endowment and good sex sense runs in the Spiegel veins."

He scratched the velvet this time.

"C'mon!" the bartender yelled, more annoyed this time.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll cover it."

Mai was laughing, the alcohol loosening her lips and the marijuana loosening her nerves. "Honestly, Spike, we're just friends." She took her turn this time. "She's not into sex with women, if that's your issue."

He choked on his drink.

A blunt Mai wasn't a normal occurrence.

"It wouldn't even be an issue, quite the opposite," he answered.

"Ah, always such a smooth-talker."

"I aim to please."

"I bet you do."

If he didn't know Mai (or Roy, for that matter), he'd swear she was flirting.

"8-Ball, Center pocket," she pointed to the one in front of Spike. The angle made it appear as though she was pointing to his crotch. He raised an eyebrow. "No funny ideas, bro," she added for good measure.

"Just poking fun, sis."

She sank the ball and won the round.

"Looks like we're all tied up," Spike commented.

Mai laughed. "We should call it quits, leave it open-ended, an eternal mental frustration of what could have been," she mused.

That statement felt heavier than it sounded.

Spike shrugged. "What's your game plan?"

"I'm pretty beat. Figured I'd go check on Faye, maybe hit the casino."

He gave her a thoughtful pondering. "I'll go with you."

"And freak Faye out?"

"I live for that," he answered.

Mai laughed again as she paid their tab, making sure to leave a fat tip and compensation for the scratched table.

They left for the hotel and waited in the elevator in silence.

That was something about Mai Spike greatly appreciated; she never said more than she needed to. She never overstated, chatted, filled silence with empty conversation: she had a point to everything she said.

Mai showed him to the room and swiped the card, handing him one of his own.

Faye was passed out on the couch.

Mai knelt to her and whispered. "Spike and I are going to the casino, doll. You want to join?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"Damn Lunkhead," she muttered as she closed her eyes again.

Mai giggled. Even in her sleep, Faye was opinionated.

"I'm sad to take that as a no," Spike whispered in Faye's ear.

Both Mai and Faye jumped.

Mai, because she hadn't heard Spike creep over to them like that.

Faye, because it was Spike.

She flung a pillow at him. "Jerk! Scaring me like that!"

But the sudden motion wasn't a good idea, and soon she was clutching her stomach and running for the bathroom.

Faye normally didn't suffer from hangovers, so Spike was doubly pleased with himself at the predicament.

Mai frowned at him. "You go. I'll join you later. I want to keep an eye on her."

He shrugged and leaned down further, his nose in front of Mai's. He moved his face closer to hers, his breath on her face.

She raised an eyebrow.

The one above her odd eye.

"You really can't be fazed," he commented.

"Nope."

He snickered as he stood up right. "Good."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrow again.

"My brother found a keeper."

With a shrug of his shoulder, he left the room.

"Hey Spike?" Mai called back before he could close the door.

"Yeah?"

She threw him a nod over her shoulder. "Tell him that."


	18. 18: You Make Me Cool

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 18: You Make Me Cool**

He knew she knew.

He also knew she wouldn't call him out; she really trusted Roy's judgment and actions completely.

Roy found a keeper all right.

Mai was some kind of saint.

Spike took a look around the casino after getting his chips. He felt like counting cards and taking names.

He found a crowded table and sat across from the dealer. He wanted to show up the young hot shot on the side that was raking in the chips.

The hot shot wasn't as young as he presumed once he saw him up close, but he was definitely confident.

Spike placed his bet and eyed the man warily.

The grey-eyed man looked back. "I'm a heavy better."

"I'm a lucky player," Spike shrugged.

They smirked at each other, unsaid understandings forming between them.

The women around the hot shot kept trying to inch closer, but he kept pushing them back.

"Don't you want to buy me a drink?" the blonde one asked.

The busty redhead spoke up with her shrill voice. "I've got a suite on the 4th floor."

"Ladies, I already told you that I'm not interested, but I can see you don't understand rejection."

"You're just being coy! Have you seen us?"

Without a glance, he responded. "Not impressed "

The blonde scoffed.

The raven-haired lady spoke up now. "You're just full of yourself."

He looked at them after placing his bet.

He pointed to the blonde. "I don't like blondes." He pointed at the red head. "I don't like sopranos." He then pointed at the raven. "And you are far too tall and leggy."

The three of them shot him dirty looks.

"21," Spike smirked.

The ladies changed their tune. "Ooh! We think he's stolen your luck!" They gathered around Spike as the game continued.

They played several hands, each man winning every other round. The other players had left some time ago, and the crowd around the table was growing each hand.

A woman sat between Spike and the hotshot. "Deal me in," she told the dealer.

"Ah, the pixie," the hotshot responded.

Faye looked at him. "The cellist? You gamble?"

She was more confused as to how he had the money to gamble there specifically.

"I'm a man of wealth and means; I have many hobbies."

The ladies around Spike shot dirty looks at Faye. They were still sore about rejection, and the man seemed to warm up to this new woman rather quickly.

She turned to face them. "What do you things want?"

"Things?" said the raven.

"You're going to let her speak to us that way, Spikey?" the blonde whined.

Faye rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Spikey," she snorted, "are you going to let me talk to them that way?"

Spike grinned. "Oh Faye, jealous?"

Faye was placing her bet. "Hardly. Lame men aren't my type."

The cellist hotshot snickered.

Spike glowered. He flipped his cards. "20."

"20," Faye and the hotshot said in unison.

"21," came the earthy voice at the end of the table.

The women turned to face the new threat.

"Sorry, Spike. You never seem to win between me and Faye," the newcomer revealed. She was eying the cellist; she seemed entranced.

"Mai, you never give me an inch," he grinned.

"Not when you'll take a mile," she grinned back.

The hotshot stood up. "I fold, and I'm out."

Mai smiled at him. "Cold feet, Zen?"

He smiled in return. "Not at all."

"Zen? You told us your name was Roy!" the women harped.

Faye froze in her seat.

The dealer had long since stopped paying attention to the dysfunctional group.

"That's 21," Mai called again.

Two hands in a row. Just her luck.

Roy walked to Mai, beaming widely. "Just my type." He kissed her.

The women narrowed their eyes at Mai. "And what does she have that we don't."

Mai, still face to face with Roy (he was leaning to kiss her), stuck her left ring finger out. "His last name."

They tried to grip Spike closer, but Faye was already playing her hand, running her fingers up Spike's arm to grip his opposite shoulder. "No thank you, ladies. I'll take that," she smiled up at them devilishly.

Spike, who would normally push her back and call her out, couldn't help but grin. He had found the harpies to be more annoying than Faye, and Mai's presence made Faye much more confident. Her increasingly sexy deadliness was starting to get to him.

Mai folded. "I'm out."

"After two hands?" Spike questioned. "Better for me then." He flipped his cards over, "Ten and ten. 20."

Spike had been counting. There was no chance of defeat.

The trio women had left. Faye was the victor.

"Not quite, cowboy," Faye revealed her final hand, having let go of Spike's arm. "Jack, Queen of Hearts, and..." she turned her third card over, "...Ace of Spades."


	19. 19: Want It All Back

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 19: Want it all Back**

As the chips slid to Faye, Spike grit his teeth in annoyed disbelief.

Mai and Roy were grinning like Cheshire cats as Faye beamed.

"I call bullshit."

"Wrong game," Faye sang as she gathered her winnings to take them to the counter.

Spike was fuming. He stared at her retreating figure as he seethed. He refused to believe she won that round fair and square.

He had counted.

He glanced over at his brother, hoping to distract himself from his annoyance.

Spike could see Mai frown as Roy whispered in her ear.

"Roy..." she started.

Crash.

Faye yelped.

All three turned their attention to Faye's location.

Victor had a hand around Faye's waist, and her arms were pinned against her sides; his sword was against her throat.

"She's not the dragon, but she'll do."

Victor was a loose cannon indeed; his brother would have preferred the cover of some place less public.

But as various card dealers and waiters revealed sleeves with silver snakes, they understood the reason for the attack.

And Roy's presence made more sense, now.

Spike and Mai gritted their teeth as casino patrons and hotel guests piled out of the large ballroom.

Spike outstretched his hands before clenching his fists.

"Now Roy, if you hand over what I'm looking for, I can let this little vixen go." Victor ran his tongue over the edge of Faye's ear.

Mai was stuck between red and reality.

Red started bleeding into the edges of Spike's vision.

Roy frowned. "You and I both know that I can't hand it over, but I'm willing to bargain," he offered.

Victor's allies were already at the ready with guns.

Mai was looking for a strategy, and as if some unknown god heard her internal pleas, she spotted Jet in the doorway.

He was crouched to the floor, and Rose was crouched opposite him.

And Rose hadn't earned her killer reputation without warrant; the woman could snipe like no other.

Victor sensed Mai's change in posture, but before he could completely turn around, a bullet flew through his shoulder.

If he hadn't moved, it would have been a clear headshot.

He dropped Faye instantly, and she swung her leg around to trip him before running back to the group.

From his position on the ground, Victor leaned over to take a shot at Faye; and as the bullet grazed her hip, and she stumbled, Spike lost all control.

Despite the small army of men now raining bullets upon them, Spike began a mad flurry of chops and kicks.

Faye watched mesmerized.

Mai ran to her. "Faye! Can you walk?"

"Yeah. It just nicked me."

"We need to get the hell out of here. We can't win with these numbers."

"But Spike-"

"No time. He can take care of himself! Get to Jet and Rose."

"Where's Roy?"

Mai stopped to look around, hoping she could give Faye an answer.

She probably would have seen red, too, as Roy was nowhere to be seen, but Victor had made himself scarce upon seeing Spike's fury; the lack of target made it easier to keep her focus.

There were few men left; most were running from Spike, and only the two he was still in the process of maiming remained.

"Faye, talk to him," Mai commanded.

"Me?"

"You triggered it. You gotta' stop it."

Faye didn't quite understand, but she wasn't really willing to go through the hell of patching Spike back together.

"Spike!" she yelled. "We need to get the hell out of here!"

He turned to her, his eyes wide and his posture hunched.

She was downright scared.

As she thought of a different approach, Spike came to his senses. He dropped the man whose collar he was holding, stepped carefully over the strewn bodies on the floor (none of them dead, Faye was glad to notice), and stopped directly in front of Faye.

She was staring wide-eyed and trembling.

He reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out a cigarette and lighter, lit up, and inhaled deeply.

She was still staring.

"I steal your cigarettes, and you just stare? You're losing your edge, Faye."

Her eyes narrowed, but instead of saying anything, she walked away.

He strode casually behind her.

He'd shoot his eye out before admitting to Faye that she was the reason for that little outburst.

Maybe it was because he already lost one woman to Syndicate kin.

Wait.

He paused his trek for a moment before regaining internal composure. He kept thinking as he walked again.

He didn't just refer to Faye as his woman, did he?

Sure, they had their past.

And he couldn't really call Julia his, either.

She always belonged to the Syndicate.

From day one.

He was just a part of her.

But maybe she wasn't a part of him.

She certainly wasn't anymore.

He continued walking behind Faye and Mai; they were talking to Jet.

Spike's eye kept reverting.

His mind kept churning.

He knew that the conversation with Mai at the bar definitely brought about a whole hoard of "what ifs?" he hadn't considered before his most recent death.

After all, the whole reason he gave Faye that whole "the past doesn't matter" lecture before he left to meet the reaper was because he felt he owed her something for the dysfunctional sexual non-friendly relationship they had.

He wasn't a boy scout, and he wasn't a saint.

But he wasn't a devil, either.

He was just a man.

As the crew continued up the stairs to their suite, his thoughts kept in time with the sway of Faye's hips.

He was losing his damn mind.

"Oi, Spike? You alright there, buddy?" Jet asked him, waving a hand in front of his face.

Spike's cigarette fell to the floor. "Huh?"

Jet laughed. "You spaced out. The girls are getting their stuff to head to the new suite."

"New?"

"Roy left Mai the Penthouse key. He owns it, apparently."

"Where did he go?"

Jet frowned a bit. "Mai doesn't know. She seems pretty down about it. We figure that Victor's gone since Roy is, so Faye thought it would be a good idea to finish out the vacation and unwind."

Spike stepped on his cigarette and turned his foot, melding the ashes into the carpet. "Sounds like a plan."

Before he could enter the suite, Jet stopped him again. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Jet."

"Roy contacted us. We got here right when Faye was pulled aside."

"Ah."

"And you? I thought you were in your room sleeping until Roy told us otherwise."

Spike smirked. "Mai invited me out of pool and drinks."

"Mai did?"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "And once Faye woke up, Mai ditched me to take care of her and that awful hangover." Spike shrugged. "She's a keeper, alright. Roy better do right by her."

"Or what? You'll snatch her up?"

Spike contemplated the notion. "I have different plans."

Jet raised the eyebrow this time, but dropped the subject.

They packed their belongings and headed upstairs where Flora, Ed, and Ein were already waiting.

Given how early it was in the morning, the crew decided slumber was the only option. Everyone retired to their separate rooms (Mai and Spike handed Faye their money as they noted Rose and Jet sharing quarters), and only Spike and Mai were left in the living area.

"Something tells me you can't sleep," Spike mused. His eyes were closed, and his head was slung back over the couch, his arms stretched across the top.

"What did he say? When he called you, I mean?" Her voice was timid, meek almost. She seemed lost and hopeful all at once. She was sitting on the chair to his left, her feet barely touching the floor. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes were wide and wondering.

Spike inhaled his fresh cigarette, the cannabis easing his tired muscles. "He said he missed you. He wants to be here. He has a job to finish before he can do that, though." He inhaled again. "He also said if I tried anything, he'd kick my ass."

Mai laughed quietly at that.

Spike walked to her and looked her square in the face.

Wide innocent eyes stared back at him. He watched her odd one dilate as it focused in and out.

He put his hands on her shoulders.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

It was an awkward sight, but he never learned how to apologize properly.

So it was his apology.

Because he couldn't say another word.

She sighed sadly. "At least tell me..."

She had trailed off.

"Tell you what?" Spike asked.

"What I can't remember."

Spike frowned. "Can't do that."

He seemed pained and slightly angry, as though he didn't agree with Roy's decision to keep that part secret.

"Why?"

"It's not my place."

"Mai? You comin' to bed?" Faye asked from the doorway. She was clad in a short, blue nightgown; her hair was slightly ruffled without her headband, and she was yawning.

Spike's eyes lingered a bit longer over her legs than he intended.

Mai looked back. "Momentarily." Faye gave her an odd look, but retreated to the room, ignoring Spike completely.

"Women..." he groaned.

"Jealous?" Mai smirked at him.

"She's changed. That's all. Don't understand it."

"I thought it was obvious." Mai stood to leave.

"Oh?"

As she reached the door, she turned and smiled. "She's distancing herself. She doesn't want to go through all that hell of losing you again."

And as the door closed quietly behind her, Spike realized something terrible.

He felt something for Faye Valentine.

The woman who hounded him, stole his cigarettes, forced her way into his life, owned everything by claim, and masqueraded as an adult (when she was really a child, he had concluded), had somehow wormed her way into another spot she had no business being in.

He wouldn't label exactly what he felt.

It was something.

But that didn't mean anything.

It was just proof he actually gave a damn about something other than himself for once in his life.

Hell, he cared about Jet and Mai. He even gave a damn about his newfound brother and crewmates.

So maybe what was throwing him off was the fact that he always saw Faye as some entity that took up space and time and energy and money and food and cigarettes and alcohol and hot running water that didn't really belong to her.

And he was suddenly aware that he didn't mind it all that much.

He chuckled to himself as he fell asleep on the couch.

Maybe he was the one who was changing.


	20. 20: Diamonds

A/N: Another chapter will be posted tomorrow since this one is so short! I am currently working on Chapter 30. It is the final chapter, and there is an epilogue. Depending on the reception to the ending of this, there may be a sequel; I already have it fleshed out. It will most likely be five to ten chapters, but very wordy. We will see. Enjoy!

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 20: Diamonds**

Even after Mai came to bed, Faye found herself tossing and turning.

Spike scared her.

He and Mai shared some strange, beastly instinct that Faye had never witnessed.

And it was terrifying.

She had never seen someone lose so much control, especially someone like Spike, all cool and calm and collected as he was.

And she wished Mai had explained what she meant by "triggered it."

There were so many questions burning in her head that she seriously doubted she'd be able to sleep.

"Penny for your thoughts, doll?" Mai asked from beside her.

Faye rolled to her back and lit a cigarette. "Just thinking."

Mai, sensing her unease, tried a different approach. "It's like watching grade-schoolers fiddle with crushes."

Faye inhaled too sharply at that and choked a bit. "Wh-What?"

Mai snatched Faye's cigarette and stole a drag. "You and Spike. You're the polar opposite of Roy and me."

Faye sputtered again. A blunt Mai was a strange Mai, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

"You two prance around the idea that it's not okay to even so much as like each other because the other defies the entire definition of what you consider "a perfect mate." So, a sexual relationship without an emotional one is the only way to hash out the obvious attraction between the two of you without dismissing your stubbornness. You wear your convictions like armor and deny emotion for logic."

Faye sat up and leaned forward, her eyes staring into the sheets over her lap.

"You wanted to know about Roy?"

Faye, thankful for the shift in subject, nodded.

Mai smiled as she sat up next to Faye. "We were total opposites."

Faye groaned. Maybe it wasn't an exact change in subject, but it would do.

"I was a goody-two shoes bounty hunter who did everything by the book. I talked and walked and breathed liked a saint. Cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, even sex? That stuff was foreign to me. I was "too good" for any of that. I closed myself off from anything that would make me even remotely sinful. My bitterness for my father's line of work made me bitter for anything related." Mai took another drag and handed a fresh cigarette to Faye.

"And Roy?"

Mai smirked. "Spiegel boys live by their own code, I've come to realize. Despite their upbringing or environment, they make themselves. In a world of grit, Roy was a beacon of peace. He was a realist to be sure, but he was an optimist. He believed in "isolation within society," a real modern hippie. He smoked marijuana drank alcohol and had his share of lovely ladies. He showed me how beautiful the world could be in balance. How you could have your cake and eat it, too, so long as you baked it yourself. He brought music and color to my world of urban noise and grey. He heard me sing and begged me to never stop. He brought love in its rawest form: unconditional, unbridled, unaltered and uncompromising."

Faye shifted. This all felt too intimate. She was almost in want of Spike's company; at least he wouldn't subject her to uncomfortable divulgences.

"And as difficult a time as I had in adjusting to a new way of thinking, my love for him changed my views without ever changing me." She paused to take a puff. "And the same went for him. I learned to loosen up, and he learned to take more control."

"Sounds like a real catch."

Mai smirked. "I'm one of the lucky ones."

"And you say you think I am?"

Mai chuckled. "Faye, you were frozen for over five decades, survived, learned how to fend for yourself overnight in a lawless world, cheated at poker for years before getting caught, and managed to stay alive despite the countless close encounters with death you've had, Vicious, Victor, lost on Callisto." Mai took a final puff. "You'd have to be blind to say you weren't damn lucky."

The last part sunk into Faye like nothing else. She never realized it in that manner. She thought she always made her own luck.

But maybe Lady Luck was nicer to Faye than anyone else.

Faye was always unscathed, unharmed, alive, and free.

Only petty need for luck had ever made her believe that luck was never on her side.

"So, Faye, maybe you're just lucky in the fact that you were frozen long enough to find your soul mate. They exist for everyone, but not everyone is lucky enough to find them, you know. Hell, if yours is around in this day and age, I'd call you the luckiest woman in the world."

Faye's eyes widened. There was no way Mai was implying that. No way in hell.

Mai's eyes were twinkling; her deliberate wording had gone unnoticed. "At least admit that you two care on some level above sexual need."

"I do NOT love that Lunkhead."

Mai lit a new cig and took a hit. "I didn't say that." She raised an eyebrow. "I said that you two care on at least some level. If you two didn't, he wouldn't have flipped at Victor the way he did, and you wouldn't be distancing yourself from what you consider a heartbreak waiting to happen."

Faye laughed dejectedly. "I think I liked it better when you were cryptic."

Mai smiled. "Guarded is a better word. When Roy's not around, I become quite an introverted individual."

"Well, I'll admit what I feel like when I feel like it."

"I would expect nothing less." Mai lied back down. "We really do need sleep of we're going to finish this vacation properly."

"Yeah." She joined Mai on the bed as her final thoughts drifted from her consciousness.

She gave more than just a damn.

She knew how she felt the first time he was alive, and she knew it was more than just a damn.

She cared about Spike Spiegel.

But admitting that was a whole different story.


	21. 21: Rouya

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 21: Rouya**

The rest of their vacation continued uneventfully.

Rose and Jet had more alone time (Flora had even called him "Papa Jet" on a few occasions).

Ed and Flora ran amok at the theme park.

Mai kept Faye in line, and Spike kept Faye on her toes.

Faye kept Spike on his guard.

They were avoiding each other on an "alone" basis. If it were just the two of them in a room at any given time, one would retreat or ask for the company of someone else.

And it had to be someone other than Mai.

She would sit there with her signature smirk and imply things with her newly discovered bluntness, and it drove them mad.

The end of the vacation was celebrated with a large dinner (courtesy of Mai, as usual), and the crew returned to the Mezzo around midnight.

"Thank you, Mai-Mai! Edward had so much chocolate cake!"

"Yes, Mai, thank you for the sugar rush the children have been experiencing since we left," Rose giggled as they boarded the ship again.

Mai grinned. "The good thing about a sugar high is..."

But Flora had already fallen asleep leaning against Jet. Jet was smiling happily as he looked at the little girl.

Mai grinned still, her mouth curling further upwards. "They come crashing down." Mai leaned over to pick Flora from the floor. She cradled her lightly. "I'll take her to bed; you and Jet take care of Ed and get some rest."

Rose's eyes twinkled at her. "You'd make a good mother, Mai."

Mai laughed softly.

Faye looked from Flora to Mai and back again. Rose was right; Mai looked as though she was meant for motherhood.

"I'd like to get my husband back before I can even consider that notion." Her comment was lighthearted despite the underlying somberness, though.

Faye was right. A vacation did Mai some good. Everyone felt better.

The weeks dragged on afterwards, and eventually the crew hit their normal dynamic. Chump change bounties kept a steady cash flow that made Jet comfortable enough, and Mai's constant insistence of paying for most things made everyone a bit richer.

Ed and Ein were teaching Flora the ins and outs of hacking. She was picking it up rather quickly, given her age, and the twenties trio suspected that she would surpass Ed by Ed's age.

"Roy's been hacking since he was five," Mai informed Faye and Spike over poker. "I suspect Flora could give him a run for his money when she hits the right stride."

"That's scary to think about: kids and computers," Faye commented.

"I fold," Spike finally said.

He'd been irritated the whole game.

"We've barely started! What gives?" Faye shouted.

She'd been irritated the whole game.

"We need another big bounty; this chump change isn't my style," Spike answered.

"I'm calling bullshit," Mai quipped.

He glared at her, but said nothing.

Like he would admit to sexual frustration.

"Edward has news, everyone!" The young hackers face appeared in a hologram from the center of the table. "Come to the dooooooome," she sang.

"Finally," Faye touted.

Mai raised an eyebrow to her. "You're irritated, too."

"Hardly," Faye argued.

Like she would admit to sexual frustration.

The three headed to the dome where Edward had climbed the tallest branches of the gargantuan tree.

The tree was a good fifty feet around, and it seemed to stretch for eons to the top of the dome.

Faye and Spike had never given it much thought before, but as Ed came sliding down the trunk at an incredible rate towards the ground, their stomachs lurched slightly.

She hit the ground on her bottom with a soft thud.

Apparently the ship was softer than they thought.

"Edward has found the old home of the mysterious desert flower!"

"You have?" the three chimed.

In sync again.

Edward nodded vigorously. "On Titan there lives Old Man Jacobs! He is the keeper of the Desert Rose! He is still believed to be the person who still has it, though Bebop knows this is not true!" Ed squinted her eyes and placed a hand over her brow as though she was searching for something.

"Old Man Jacobs? What kind of name is that?" Faye asked incredulously.

The old Faye attitude was back.

Spike had missed it.

"His name! Silly Faye-Faye!"

Faye groaned as Mai let out a hearty laugh.

"Only problem is Edward cannot find him. He does not have a home!"

"You just said he was on Titan, Ed," Faye responded.

"But not where on Titan! Titan is huge and empty!" Edward stretched her arms out and wobbled from her sitting position on the floor.

"So that's our job, then?" Faye asked.

Mai crossed her arms in thought. "I need to see a friend about a lead," she decided.

"A lead? Already?"

Spike stared at Mai as Faye questioned her. Mai was uneasy.

"I'll be back before too long." Mai began to walk towards the hallway to the hangar.

"I'm going with you," Faye declared.

Mai turned to face her. "Forewarning, doll, you may not like the things my guy has to say."

The memory hit Spike quite suddenly.

_"Besides, you're still not strong enough to fight, swimming bird."_

He watched them walk away before deciding to visit the man himself.

Laughing Bull had always been insightful.


	22. 22: Meteor

**Bebop Blues**

Chapter 22: Meteor

"It has been a while, Singing Dragon."

"I know."

Faye stared from the old man, Laughing Bull, as Mai had told her, to Mai and back again as they conversed.

They met him on Tijuana, and Faye had never seen a stranger sight.

"You are not seeking him this time."

"Which him?"

"Ah, cryptic child, you must stop running from your fate and-"

"-join the lofty realm intended for me by the great spirit."

Laughing Bull looked at her. "The longer the soul waits, the more difficult the journey to that realm will be." The sand from his hand sifted to the ground; he seemed disappointed by Mai's insistence of defying her fate. "I do not speak so openly to other seekers. You have always been special, Singing Dragon."

"I'm looking for Old Man Jacobs." Mai was in no mood for a discussion, though she took Laughing Bull's words to heart. She didn't deny them as Jet would have, but she couldn't submit to them without fulfilling her physical worldly mission.

Laughing Bull closed his eyes before staring into the sands. "A silver snake hides where the desert flower can find him; they are two sides the same, the lineage of the desert seedling."

Mai frowned.

Faye looked at them confused.

Mai had warned her not to speak to Laughing Bull, lest she felt like having an hour or two of introspection.

But Faye Valentine didn't take orders from anyone.

"What does that even mean?" she asked in exasperation.

Laughing Bull turned to stare at her, a twinkling in his eyes. "The oldest star I've met on this plane, Dashing Fox. You are a special one."

She blinked at him. "Special?"

"A guardian star and a polar star, all have one but not the other. Your place in the great sky is coming to light, Dashing Fox. Your guardian star-"

"We'll be going now," Mai interrupted. She grabbed Faye's wrist, and they exited the tent.

Mai slammed into someone.

"Fancy meeting you here," Spike said with a smirk.

Mai looked up at him. "You seek wisdom, Swimming Bird?"

Spike raised an eyebrow to her. "You've been in some funk lately, Mai. I'm guessing Laughing Bull didn't help."

"I believe what he says, but we have differing views on the timeframe."

"So, you really are dreaming."

"Some of us have opened the door before, Spike. Some of us also want to have our cake and eat it, too." She glared at him. "If you know where Roy is, now would be your cue."

Spike was grating on her patience.

He stood his ground and put his hands to his shoulders, palms out. "I'm innocent."

"Fuck you," she spat. She was still holding on to Faye's wrist, and they left Spike standing in front of the tent.

"You can let go of me, Mai," Faye finally said when they reached their ships.

Mai dropped her grip. "Sorry."

"What gives? Why are you so upset?"

"Sometimes the truths we know are worse a burden than the ones we wish we knew."

Cryptic again.

Faye pouted. She was finally attuned to the blunt Mai, and now she was back to riddles and double-meanings.

"You know, it was nice to have someone to talk to that wasn't so heavy worded."

"Like Spike?"

Faye flinched. "No. He talks to me like I'm nothing. You talk to me like a friend."

"And I still am."

"You're being cryptic again."

Mai shrugged. "I never say more than I need to."

"Mai! Faye! Rose is missing!" Jet yelled from their coms in each ship.

"What?" Faye yelled.

"She's not missing, Jet; she's gone to find the silver snake. He's killed Old Man Jacobs in search of the Desert Rose."

"How did you get all that from Laughing Bull?" Jet asked exasperated.

"Because she's a hippie, Jet," Spike answered from behind them.

He looked concerned with whatever Laughing Bull had relayed to him.

Mai and Faye turned to face him.

"They're on the far edge of Titan in Hill's Edge," he finished.

"Then let's get going," Mai said.

"Wait! What the hell is going on?" Faye asked.

Something didn't feel right.

"Jet, we're gonna' need Ed and Ein on this one, and I'd make sure you and Flora fly out here, too," Mai informed them.

"What? Why?" Jet was getting desperate for answers.

"Because this is it. We're at the final stretch. The end of the road," Mai concluded.

Everyone went silent.

"Victor is the silver snake..." Faye said finally.

"Yeah."

"But that means-"

"Stop," Jet interrupted Faye. "I know what you're getting at, and I refuse to believe it."

"But you don't even know what we're talking about, do you, Jet? You weren't here to hear that the silver snake and the desert flower are both the lineage of the seedling," Mai pointed out.

He grew silent and stoic.

Running Rock indeed.

"She told you, and you lashed out and refused to believe it. But face it, Victor is that child's father, and Rose was the Syndicate's top sniper."

Everyone grew silent.

"Mai, your eye..." Faye said quietly.

But Mai could hear it, whirring and dilating, focusing in and out as memories played.

Spike's didn't work quite that way.

Mai put a hand to her eye, her palm covering the cybernetic organ. "This runs deeper than you think," she said to Spike, her expression going flat.

"And it's not your job to stop it," he answered.

She climbed into the Blues. "I know that. I'm not finding him to die."

"You just said as much," Spike answered again. He was getting angry, and he didn't know why.

"Faye, I'll send you the coordinates." Mai then turned to Spike. "And you, too, Lunkhead."

She hopped into her ship without another word and took off, the coordinates flashing on Faye and Spike's screen.

"What the hell was that?" Faye screamed at Spike. "What does she mean by all that?"

Spike's mouth drew taut. "Faye, you talk too much."

As he approached the Swordfish, she threw herself in front of him and planted her feet to the ground. Her hands her on her hips, and the fire in her eyes burning brighter than ever. "Bullshit."

"Wrong game."

"Then what game is this, Spike? Why do all of you keep on insisting on facing death for nothing?"

He stepped toward her, his brown, mismatched orbs piercing into her clear, green ones. "It's not for nothing, Faye."

They both felt it. That flashback to when Spike left the Bebop to die. It shook them to realize this was not the first time they'd had this conversation, and it shook them worse to realize that they needed this conversation.

"You didn't even die, Spike."

"Faye."

"I'm not dealing with this again."

"Faye." His voice grew louder.

"It's always a damn Spiegel," she laughed meekly.

He kissed her.

Her eyes went wide, and she promptly stopped talking.

"Takes too much to shut you up," he responded when he pulled back.

She slapped him.

He rubbed his face, shrugged and proceeded to hop into the Swordfish.

"You've got some nerve, asshole! Why the hell-"

"Spike! You there?"

Faye froze.

Roy.

On Spike's vidcom.

As though it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Yeah."

"She take off?"

"That's one hell of a firecracker you've got," Spike replied.

Roy laughed heartily. "I'll meet you guys on Titan, then. I'll keep an eye out for Rose, too."

Faye jumped to the edge of the cockpit, her arms holding over the edge as she looked at the screen.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked him.

His grey eyes stared back solemnly. He and Spike shared the same facial structure, but with short buzzed brown hair and grey eyes, they almost seemed distantly related as opposed to brothers.

The smirk gave it away, though.

"She's putting an end to the Syndicate," he answered.

Faye's arms pulled her further in; her head was practically in Spike's lap now. "What do you mean, "putting an end?" The Syndicate has been toast ever since Spike-"

"Faye, get out of my lap," Spike said, his eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. He looked torn between irritation and flirtation.

Faye looked at him, her eyes lighting briefly with thoughts of nights long past.

She blinked before sliding to the ground.

"Faye!" Her vidcom yelled.

Roy had switched focus.

As she ran to the Red Tail, Spike took off.

Something in her gut was churning.

"There's been a change of plans," a second voice joined in.

Mai stared back at her, determination writ upon her features.

Spike joined the call. "Quit changing things."

"Keep up, Cowboy," Mai quipped.

"Back to the Mezzo," Roy commanded.

"Roger that," responded Faye. She turned her com off; she wanted silence.

She took one last look from the meteor she was departing.

As a shooting star crossed her vision, her stomach lurched.

Dashing Fox was chasing dreams.


	23. 23: Clutch

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 23: Clutch**

The flight back to the Mezzo would be a long one.

And silence only did Faye so well for so long.

She dialed out.

"Wasn't expecting you to call." Roy's voice was smoother than she remembered.

"You know Laughing Bull?" Faye asked. She didn't call for a conversation; she called for answers.

"I do."

"What's the deal with guardian stars?"

He suddenly looked worried. "What did he say?"

It bothered Faye to see this enigma so mundanely. He had been some strange satellite in the lives of the crew for so long and now he seemed so accessible.

It unnerved her.

"He told me something about my guardian star, but he didn't get a chance to finish. Mai cut him off."

He grew solemn. "She's a lot more protective of you than I thought."

"What does it mean?"

He sighed. "When a creature's guardian star dies, that creature dies."

"In other words, if that star that protects me dies, I'm done for?"

"Yeah."

Faye looked thoughtful a moment. "Then what's a polar star?"

Roy blinked at her. "A polar star? As in a soul mate?"

Her eyes went wide. "That's what that is?"

"You have both?" he asked. "That's very rare and very lucky."

"Is Mai my guardian?"

He grew silently thoughftul. "I would say yes."

"I see."

Mai cutting off Laughing Bull was an omen, then, and the feeling in Faye's gut may not have been unwarranted. "So, I'm supposed to die, then?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Suppose so."

She mulled the idea over. "Well, I just can't agree to that."

Roy chuckled a bit. "That's what she said when he gave her his prediction."

Faye grew silent at that. "So that's what he meant about the great spirit."

"Yeah."

"She has a guardian star?"

"She doesn't. She just has a polar star, but Laughing Bull sees other things in her life."

"I see."

"You want the truth?"

Faye raised an eyebrow. "Is that a trick question."

He laughed and proceeded with his statement. "She was supposed to die on Mars two years ago. She changed her fate."

More pieces falling into place, more questions birthed from new answers.

"I was there," Faye answered. "I was bait for Spike."

"I know. He was still hung up on Julia."

Faye twitched. "He still is."

"Is he? He doesn't talk like it." Roy's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Well, I was roped in for no-"

"-other reason than the fact you were in Dad's opera box as an advocate for Spike."

"You call him dad?" She was dodging the implication.

"He was my father-in-law, and I respected him a great deal."

They shared a brief moment of silence.

"What were you and Mai doing there?" she finally asked.

He chuckled melancholically. "I told you. We were changing her fate."

"I don't get it."

"That trap was meant for Mai. Spike's appearance was random happenstance." His eyes glimmered as though he were proud.

Faye wasn't stupid; the man was a better hacker than Ed. "You put the bounty on Mao to lure Spike out of the woodwork." She leaned back and crossed her arms. "You sneaky bastard."

"You caught me."

Faye was suddenly irate. "You could have gotten us killed!"

"It wasn't his time to die, or yours, for that matter."

"How do you know that? He's so willing to just toss his life away that he could have-"

"He couldn't have died without killing Vicious."

"Don't you mean without finding Julia?"

"Don't you mean you're jealous?"

She would have slapped him. It was apparent that the Lunkhead gene ran in the family, and she suddenly wished she had called Mai instead of Roy for answers.

But calling Mai would have meant emotions bubbling and confusing her, and answers would have been riddled with enigmatic reasoning.

"Why did you really call me, Faye?" Roy asked sensing her discomfort.

She thought of her words carefully. In the end, her thinking meant nothing as her questions erupted. "Why did you abandon her? Leave her at some hospital with a different name? Leave her bedside while she healed? Force her to spend years hanging on to you without ever finding you? You say you have motives, but you're just as bad as Spike: no reasons behind your actions. It's all so fucked up."

"It's pretty parallel to you, isn't it?" he asked.

"Answer the damn question. If I wanted an answer like that, I would have called Mai."

"And who's to say I don't answer in riddles?"

"The woman who's been sleeping with your wife."

Low blow.

But Faye never played fair.

He seemed unaffected. "I have my reasons, or you can damn well bet I would have been by her side every second of those years. Us Spiegels have a reason behind everything, even if that reason is just impulse."

"I've yet to hear them, so I'll assume you're lying."

"Would Mai love me if I was a liar?"

"She'd love you no matter what."

That answer came out too quick, as though the words spilling forth brought realization and pain. The words felt like needles, picking at Faye in ways she couldn't feel.

She had caught up to the group now, and she felt a need to stop the conversation.

It left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Faye, I love her more than can ever be said."

"Well, you have a fine way of proving it."

She wanted to tell him off some more, but out of the black abyss that surrounded them, a plasma beam hit the edge of the Red Tail.

"The hell?" Faye screamed.

It nicked the top of the cockpit, but it was strong enough to slam her ship off-course.

"We've got company!" Mai's face on the vidcom was lit with excitement.

The woman lived for battle.

A true Syndicate daughter.

Faye spun to face the onslaught.

The Mezzo was still too far.

Faye wasn't sure she had the gas for this excursion.

She didn't have time to think this over, though, as several zip-crafts, silver snakes emblazoned, zoomed towards them, plasma shots and gunshots firing haphazardly.

"Jet! Bring the Mezzo to us!" Mai yelled.

"I'm working on it!" His voice was agitated; he seemed distracted by some other dilemma.

As the Spiegels and Faye turned and twisted to shoot and dodge, the Mezzo came into view.

They realized the source of Jet's dismay instantly; a large crack was running along the dome.

It could give at anytime.

"My ship!" Mai screamed.

"Our ship," Roy corrected.

"Children," Spike smirked.

Faye rolled her eyes.

"Had a bit of a run-in with Victor," Jet clarified. "If Rose hadn't been tailing him in the Hammerhead, he would have broken the whole thing."

"You saw Rose?" Mai asked. She was twirling through space with ease as she took down zip crafts one by one.

Spike and Roy were competing for alpha male, it seemed, each outdoing the other in class and number.

"She said she still had to avenge Jacobs."

"Who's Old Man Jacobs?" Faye finally asked. She was having less luck with her group. The Red Tail would be in need of repair when all was said and done.

"Her father: Jacob Santiago." Mai answered, pulling the Blues in front of the Red Tail to assist Faye.

"Jacob Santiago?" Spike questioned.

Every Red Dragon knew him; he was Mao's most trusted guard.

"You think a Spanish lovely like Rose was enlisted into the Syndicate on her own? She was bred to be a killer," Mai answered, zip crafts stopping in front of her as she riddled them with ammunition.

"Where does Victor keep finding these people?" Faye asked in exasperation. The zip crafts kept appearing; the numbers weren't dwindling.

"These ones aren't people," Roy answered, his EMP shot disabling the group of seven before him.

"Drones," Spike finished, rounding of his eight with a plasma cannon. "That's fifteen."

"Seventeen," Roy quipped.

"Twenty-two, boys. Keep your pants on," Mai finished.

Faye wasn't even keeping track; she was just scraping to survive.

Jet had fired shots from the Mezzo, but the ricochet was enough to worsen the crack in the dome.

Titan was within sight.

"Jet, head to Titan! The Mezzo won't last much longer if you keep that up, and the back-up seal will only hold long enough to evacuate the ship!" Mai instructed.

"Already on it," Jet replied.

There were thirty drones left.

Faye was out of fuel.

"Jet! Get me first!" she commanded. "I'm out of-!"

But a plasma beam cut off her next sentence. Her ship rocked back and forth, her video feed curling in and out of static.

"Faye!" Mai screamed.

Her ship was a dead fish in water. The plasma beam blew out the controls. Only her com was available. "I'm fine, but what the hell?" she finally confirmed. The shock had given her whiplash, and she knew she'd be feeling it in the morning.

"I see you're better bait than the Dragon," a voice snarled over their coms.

"'Bout time you show up, you snake," Mai hissed.

His face appeared over the video feed. "Roy, it's time you stop running, you bastard."

Roy smirked. "I'm not running, Vickie."

Victor frowned. "Petty name calling..." He took another blast from his hidden location.

Faye's ship was already out of commission, and he was trying to bring her out of it, too.

A shield shot from the Rhythm to expand around the Red Tail and the plasma beam ricocheted into nothing.

"Your damn tricks, Spiegel," Victor commented.

"This doesn't involve her," he answered.

"Edward to the rescue!" came the voice from their coms.

From the edge of Titan's horizon, the crew could see the old fishing lunker flying towards them. The Bebop was on its way.

"Edward is in Mezzo, but the Bebop will help!" She zoomed it towards Faye. "Faye-Faye! It will be okay!"

"Ed! Wait!" Mai yelled.

The Bebop halted.

Victor laughed. "Ah. So you know that trick, do you?"

"How else would you be able to get so many drones to us this far from Titan so quickly?" Mai huffed. "Roy, eleven o'clock!"

Bang.

The EMP blast shot towards the Bebop.

"Nooooooo!" Ed screamed dramatically.

It seemed to pause in mid-air as a ship the same size as the Mezzo, riddled with static and sparks, slowly came into view.

The silver snake on the side glared at them.

It was unmistakable.

"Blood money buy you that, too?" Mai snarled.

Red was bleeding into her vision.

"Watch it, Mai. That tank's no joke," Roy cooed.

Of course he would know; it was obvious he had been trailing Victor in some regard for a very long time.

The red kept trickling.

The Bebop veered around Victor's ship to scoop the Red Tail, and Victor chanced a shot at Faye again.

The Blues disappeared.

"Mai!" Roy screamed.

Victor's face fell as he realized the wrath he had invoked.

The crew watched in shock as something heavy hit the docking bay of Victor's ship. The invisible weight landed with enough force to rock the vessel.

The hatch to the bay flew open as drones poured out, seemingly on an automated sensor; the weight shifted forward through the door, and the rest of the team scrambled.

The Rhythm and Swordfish landed next, followed by the Bebop.

"Faye-Faye! Go save the day!" Ed yelled from the com as the Bebop halted within Victor's ship; the door of the bay slid shut behind it.

Faye, glock in hand, dashed from the hangar of the Bebop.

"Faye! I can't find Mai!" Roy yelled.

efore she could respond, a scream from somewhere ahead of them sounded, and they sprinted towards the source.

Spike was the first one there.

Various gunmen were already incapacitated as they watched Mai lift one from the floor. "You'll tell me where he is, or you'll meet a deserved ending," she huffed almost inaudibly.

Roy's expression went from concerned to disbelieving instantly. Mai had lost it on more than one occasion due to Faye, but this time was different.

Even Spike and Faye could sense it.

She was out for Victor's blood.

For some reason, he boiled her veins, electrified her nerves, blinded her vision: pushed her to some edge she hadn't yet crossed.

"Mai, you need to calm down..." Roy reasoned.

The tenseness in his shoulders and the ease of his steps made Faye believe he knew Mai's motivations.

"Mai, I'm fine," Faye tried. Her voice gave her away.

Spike took three quick strides to her and leaned to her ear. He told her something that couldn't be heard by Faye or Roy.

Whatever he whispered snapped her back, and she turned to the group almost ashamedly.

Roy was shooting Spike the dirtiest look Faye had ever seen, but Spike seemed oblivious.

"D-d-down the hall..." a man on the floor managed to stutter.

He had pissed himself.

"Good," Faye finished.

None of the Spiegels were moving, and Faye was anxious to get the job done.

She needed a drink.

Screw that.

She needed a bottle.

Or maybe three.

She started down the hall, and Mai followed almost trance-like.

Spike and Roy were not too far behind them.

They reached the door, and each cocked their respective firearms, unsure of the scene that would lay before them.

The door slid, and Mai, followed by the remainder of the crew, ran in.

"Ah. We haven't been in this predicament in a while, Miss Dragon. Tell me, how's that wound healing? I bet the scar is a nasty one."

Mai's grip on her glock tightened.

Victor was standing at the edge of the console room, his sword firmly at the ready. His blue eyes pierced Mai's brown ones as he focused on her solely.

Roy grit his teeth in response to Victor's words.

Faye's grip tightened around her gun.

Spike stood placid.

"It is, you bastard," she answered.

He threw his head back and let out a deep cackle. "Perhaps it will teach you a lesson about choosing your enemies wisely."

She took a shot.

He was running towards them.

Both Roy and Spike managed to stop his arm from swinging.

"You're going to let them fight your battles?" he grinned; his teeth glinted ominously.

Mai's eyes went wide, but Faye saw it first.

"Get the hell out! It's going to self-destruct!" Faye screamed.

Roy and Spike attempted shots at Victor, but he had slipped out of jacket and down the opposite hall.

"That bastard!" Mai screamed.

Faye grabbed her wrist. "No time."

They dashed back to the hangar, the women leading the way as the men ran behind them.

And that's when Spike saw it. As they crossed the threshold to the hangar, he knew they wouldn't make it out in time.

Victor's men had placed proximity charges throughout the ship.

Faye and Mai were directly in the line of fire.

He dove to them.

Darkness.


	24. 24: Green Bird

A/N: Summer classes finally ended. I finished the story a while ago, but Chapter 25 is undergoing a heavy rewrite to flesh out some details a bit more sufficiently! I shall try and update soon!

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 24: Green Bird**

This was getting old.

He was getting tired of dying.

Beyond his dark, cold prison of what was no doubt the end of a short coma, he could hear a woman humming.

Why were his deaths punctuated by singing women?

It was melancholy, hollow, and almost superficial. The voice was bright, but the tune was off.

Some blues with banged up piano keys.

It was comforting.

In all of his earthen and sunlit tones he had become so conformed to recently, a little chaos was welcome in his world.

Things had been planned too perfectly lately.

And so he called this song the moon. It was once a wholesome being, but was torn to pieces, scattered in directions from near and far, marred by humanity's selfish needs.

It was once bright and full, but was now some echoing memory of a world beyond him.

The moon.

He blinked his eyes repeatedly.

He wanted to capture this voice.

Give it a name.

This Mezzo-Soprano of off-key demeanor.

It was splendid.

He blinked still and attempted to sit.

Everything hurt.

It hurt worse than the first time.

As though the fact that he was asleep rather than dead meant that he was still feeling.

He would have smirked.

His eyes finally flickered. He could see.

He rolled his head to his right where the sound was coming from.

He could see Mai lying on the bed next to his, her eyes closed lightly.

She was bandaged extensively.

Beyond her, he could see Roy sitting on a bed, fading in and out of consciousness.

Faye was hovering over Mai.

She was humming.

He coughed, a sputtered attempt at a greeting leaving his lips.

She turned around on the spot, and her song faded.

She was unscathed.

"You're awake," she noted.

Her tone was cold and icy, but her eyes were lit with relief.

He nodded, his throat still a cracked and dry mess.

She walked to a nearby sink and ran the water. She searched the cabinet above her head for a cup (she had to stand on the tips of her toes, and it stretched her legs in her tight pants nicely; Spike couldn't help by stare a bit) and filled it with water. She walked to him and slid a hand beneath his shoulder blades to help prop him to a half-sitting position. "Drink," she commanded.

He complied, content with this somewhat tolerable Faye as opposed to the normally antagonistic one.

He coughed and gagged.

"Watch it, tiger," she chastised.

He rolled his eyes but slowed his pace.

This all seemed so familiar.

She was still cold; Mai had been more welcoming than that.

He finished his drink and lied down again.

Satisfied with herself in her hospitality, Faye walked back to Mai's bed and resumed her tune.

"What's that song?" he managed to finally ask.

She turned around and blinked. "Why do you care? It's off-key."

She seemed hurt.

He had a flashback. "Sing for me. Just like that," he remembered saying.

That seemed like another life.

Another Spike.

"You sing off-key."

And another Spike.

Off-key, eh?

He could dig it. Off-key and wonky; full of life without care of judgment.

"I like it. Sing some more."

She blinked at him again. "Sing? I'm just humming."

"Just do it." He didn't feel like arguing. He wanted moonlight.

She shrugged, turned to Mai, and resumed. "Not because you asked me. Because I feel like it," she replied after a few seconds, her face never turning.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Spike closed his eyes to hear again. Her humming soothed him, and his wounds felt better with each second.

"Mama Cass..." Roy noted from his bed quietly.

"Dream a little dream of me..." she sang softly. She leaned over and kissed Mai's forehead.

Mai stirred slightly, but did not wake.

"How are you feeling, Roy?" Spike called; his eyes stayed shut as Faye's song resounded in his head, ricocheting within the walls of his skull.

"Like shit, but you're worse off than me."

"Mai took the worst hit." Faye noted.

Spike could hear Roy's jar tighten; the man's body language was always clear as day.

"What happened, exactly?" Spike chanced.

"You managed to shield Faye. I tried to knock Mai out of the way, but I got hit in the process."

"Mai helped Roy to the Bebop, and then she came back to help me get your ass off the floor," Faye answered. She was smoking a joint as she recounted the tale.

Roy took over again. "They pulled you into the Bebop, and Ed managed to get the Rhythm, Blues, and Swordfish into the hangar. The Bebop was damaged from shrapnel in the docking bay. Mai had to manually shut the gate."

Faye inhaled deeply before exhaling sharply as she took her turn this time. "Victor planned things perfectly. A charge went off from inside the hangar. It didn't break the ship, but it almost broke her..."

"Her entire back is burned," Roy stated calmly.

"And she banged her head pretty hard. One of the pipes was hot..." Faye said sadly.

"It hit the side with the fake eye, at least." Roy was attempting to be positive.

"That bastard deserves a slow death."

Roy and Spike shivered slightly.

Faye had never sounded so deadly.

Spike sat up. "Yeah." He could tell now that they were in the Mezzo; he always assumed it was equipped with an infirmary, but he had hoped he wouldn't see it from the injured side of things.

Faye was healthy as always.

Lady Luck.

"Jet's talking with Doohan; you've been out two days," Roy informed him. "Doohan's seeing what he can do about that crack. Rose is still missing, and Flora's starting to get antsy."

"Ed and Ein can only keep her busy for so long," Faye concluded.

"Rose sent us a radio transmission with Victor's whereabouts, but we're still useless at the moment." Roy was frustrated.

And worried.

"She's tough. She'll be up soon," Spike encouraged.

"You don't know her," Faye snapped.

"You're saying she's not?" he asked.

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

"Quit talking like you own her, Faye."

"I've got more right than you do!"

"Because you're bed buddies?"

"Sleeping on her couch is less a right than-"

"Enough," she sang. Her voice was weak and fragile. Its earthiness was eroding, and she seemed gone.

Dead.

"You don't feel like interjecting, Roy?" she rasped.

Roy's attention turned to her. "Mai..."

"What the hell did Victor do to force you out for all this time," she asked.

Without care for her injuries and without recognition of her pain, she sat up. She shifted her legs to the edge of the table, the bandages around her pulling at her skin. They were soaked in blood and pus.

Burns never did fare well.

She started a slow trek to Roy; Faye winced as she saw the extent of Mai's injuries, and even Spike was beside himself at the sight of the burn and gash against the side of Mai's face.

How the woman was walking without crying in pain, no one knew.

Each of her steps was marked with a question. "What the hell was so terrible that you decided this course of action was best? Why is Victor so set on killing me, you, the rest of us, whatever is left of my father's legacy or whatever? What the fuck happened that all this pain and anguish and death was pleasanter than-"

"Mai, I hope you're feeling better," Rose's voice came through the doorway.

Mai turned on her heels to face the sound.

Sure enough, there the Desert Flower stood; her thick wavy hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail. Flora was hugging her mother's long legs for dear life. Rose's eyes were tired, and her age was showing more than ever.

"You're back."

"Victor's still out there," was Rose's only response. Her gaze turned to Roy. "He told me."

Roy said nothing, but his pupils dilated.

"He asked that you stop trying to solve this on your own and stated that Mai was better equipped for what needs to be done."

Roy grit his teeth. "None of us are equipped well enough right now to do anything."

"He said he knew that; he also said it was your fault." Rose let out a deep sigh. "He knows where Rin is and not to push him any further. He grows tired of chases."

"Rin?" the other three asked in unison.

Jet walked into the room, Ed and Ein close behind him. "Rin has the means to deconstruct the gem."

"Who the hell is Rin?" Mai asked. Her cybernetic eye was zooming in and out at a rapid rate.

"We don't know," Jet answered.

"Roy knows something, though," Rose finished. "Victor assured me of that."

Mai turned to face Roy again.

"Wait, you talked to Victor?" Faye asked Rose.

Rose knelt to Flora. "You and Papa Jet go start up lunch. Mama will be there shortly."

"But-"

"I promise, little one."

Flora nodded vigorously; Jet took her hand, and the two departed. As the door slid shut behind them, Rose faced the group again. "Yes. I did. He's agreeable enough to me."

No one said a word. Spike was suddenly questioning whether or not Rose had ever intended to kill him in the casino in the first place.

"He didn't try and kill you?" Faye questioned.

Rose shook her head.

"But your father-"

"He's trying to wipe all remnants of the Syndicate, but even Victor won't leave his daughter without a mother," Mai concluded. "I am curious as to why you didn't end him yourself, though, Rose."

Rose chuckled somberly. "One on one, I can't bring myself to kill him. I did feel something for him once, you know. Flora is beautiful proof of that."

Mai's eye began whirring.

It hurt.

Inexplicable pain.

She fell to her knees and grasped her face, her real eye widening as her mouth fell open. "Proof..." She winced as her eye whirred faster.

Roy shot from his bed and was kneeling in front of her in a blink. His hand went to her waist, the other to her face. He cupped her cheek to pull her gaze upward from the floor. "Mai. Stay with me, Mai," he spoke. His voice was firm, but the rest of the room could sense his urgency.

"Proof..." she whispered. "Rin..."

"Mai. Snap out of it," he spoke again.

"Mai!" Faye screamed.

Spike's sudden flashback to the two days before brought the event full circle. "A dragon's gem is none for hoarding," he spoke.

Only this time, everyone heard him.

Not just Mai.

She snapped to and looked up at Spike. She panted in pain.

Roy and Faye lifted her from the ground to lay her upon the bed once more.

"Rin..." she whispered. Her eyes fluttered shut.

Faye turned to look at Spike immediately. "The hell was that about?"

"You promised you wouldn't," Roy chastised.

"I promised I would keep my mouth shut," Spike corrected. "I didn't promise to not interfere," he seethed.

Both Spiegels were livid.

Both for entirely opposite reasons.

"Well, an explanation. One of you," Rose pleaded.

"Out with it, lunkheads," Faye commanded.

"This isn't your business, Faye," Spike yelled.

"Damn if it isn't!"

"It's not your place," Roy tried this time.

"Enough!" Rose growled.

The trio went silent; Mai slept peacefully still.

"From what I can tell, the tigress has more a right than any of you! At least she cares; the two of you don't act like you even give a damn about Mai as a person. She's all "Syndicate" and "Dragon" and business to you."

"She's my soulmate."

"And you've done a hell of a job acting like it," Faye argued.

"Mommy, why is everyone so angry?" Flora asked from the doorway.

Silence again.

And shame.

"We were just in a shouting match, sweetheart. We'll let them settle it. Let's go finish lunch."

Flora nodded happily and took her mother's hand to lead her down the hallway.

Shame.

"I'll tell you, Faye," Roy concluded.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take a seat and light up a joint. This is going to take a while...


	25. 25: Elm

A/N: I am SO sorry for the late rewrite. Between school, work, and some personal things, I had trouble finding time to finish this chapter rewrite. It's completely new from the original Chapter 25 I had written, so it took a bit longer than expected. The good news is, Chapters 26 – 30 will be posted soon as they are complete, and an epilogue will be posted following the completion of the sequel.

**Bebop Blues**

Chapter 25: Elm

Punch.

Kick.

Turn.

Repeat.

With each motion, Faye tried in vain to quash the flurry of thoughts running through her head.

As she exited the gym and headed towards the bathroom for a long shower, she sighed heavily.

Perhaps the shower would ease her troubled mind instead.

The water poured on her as heavily as her thoughts.

Nope. Not a bit.

She toweled off and slipped into shorts and a tank top, her towel slung over her shoulders as her hair framed her face.

She paused a moment before entering the infirmary.

Another sigh escaped her, and she opened the door.

There lay Mai.

And sitting in the chair next to her, half strewn across the edge of the bed in slumber, was Roy.

Faye shook him lightly. "Get up."

He blinked and yawned as he sat straight. "I can't leave her."

"You need food and a shower, and I'm not a cook, a maid, or a personal assistant," she remarked.

He stood. "Guess you're right."

"I'll keep watch."

He nodded and took his leave.

Faye sighed again as she sat in the caregiver chair.

The conversation had become a routine between Faye and Roy.

Every night for the last two months, it had been the same story.

Faye propped her elbows on Mai's bed, intertwined her fingers, and rested her chin on the bridge created by her own comfort.

She stared at Mai intently, watching her chest move as she breathed deeply.

She had never seen someone comatose lay on their side, but with Mai's back in the condition that it was, it was apparent as to the need behind it.

Mai's eyes fluttered.

Faye blinked and craned her neck forward. She stared again.

Did she imagine that?

No movement.

She was about to heave another sigh (it was her most common form of communication these days) and lean back into her chair, but she stared a second longer, her face closer to Mai's this time.

The burn around her fake eye was nearly healed; Faye could tell from this distance that it wasn't going to leave the nicest of marks, though.

"Good morning to you, too, doll."

Raspy. Earth through a grinder. Somewhat living, but still hollow.

A dead woman waking.

"Mai!"

Mai rolled to her back and immediately winced. Her breath hitched as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "Fuck…"

"Back on your side. You've still got burns."

Mai obeyed.

A few moments of deep breathing and she opened her eyes. "How long have I been dead?"

Faye shivered. She answered warily, unsure of whether or not Mai remembered her last bout of consciousness. "Two months."

"That's too long for Victor to still be walking a live man."

Faye felt relief wash over her. Mai didn't recall the last incident at all.

Mai's eyes darted around the room. "Where's –"

"Just ushered him out. He's dedicated to the point that someone needs to tell him to shower and eat."

"So he's alright. I'm glad."

"He took the lightest hit."

"You're unscathed as usual. I'm happy for that." Mai smiled at her.

Faye smiled back nervously. Mai was not acting her normal self.

"And Spike?"

"He's up and about. Finally back to one hundred percent as of last week."

"He took that hit for you; I didn't know how bad he took it."

"Yeah, well, he's fine." Faye twitched.

Mai laughed. "Fine, fine. You don't want to talk about."

Faye didn't want to talk.

About anything.

She had been so anxious for Mai to awaken, but now her rebirth loomed over her like an omen of ill-fated, unavoidable consequences.

Faye stood suddenly. "I'll go get Roy."

And without a glance at Mai, she left the room hurriedly.

The door slid shut.

"She's awake."

Faye groaned.

Spike was leaning against the wall next to the sliding door, his hands in his pockets, a bent joint in his mouth, and his eyes closed serenely.

"Where's Roy?"

Spike stood to his feet and let out a puff. "He left on some errand. He said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

"Are you kidding me? He just takes off –"

"After you tell him to go. He hasn't left once since she's been out. Bad timing."

Faye pursed her lips, but said nothing. She stormed towards the kitchen, Spike slouching as he followed her. She began opening cabinets and pulling out random assortments of food and spices. She wasn't much of a cook, but maybe food would take her mind off the lunkhead brothers and the she-dragon.

"So you're not even going to tell her he's gone?" Spike asked.

"I don't know what to tell her, Spike," Faye spat as she turned. Her finger was against his chest, and her eyes were lit with worry and frustration.

"It's all too real now, isn't it, Faye?"

"Can it." She pushed her bottom lip out further in disapproval. "Lunkhead," she added for good measure.

"Yeah. I know." He turned tail and left the kitchen, throwing a hand up as his departing sign.

Spike stood before the infirmary door a moment before lighting himself another joint.

No one liked entering the dragon's den; the pause before the doorframe seemed ritualistically necessary to retain one's wits.

The door slid open.

"Yo."

Mai smiled up at him as he walked in. "Hey."

"Roy stepped out for the first time since you've been unconscious."

"Ah. And Faye's avoiding me. Gotcha."

"Nothing slides by you," Spike smirked as he sat in the chair next to her.

"Could you help me up? I'd like to sit; I'm pretty sure my arm is asleep from lying in this position."

He leaned over to grasp her arms gently. "Faye and Roy moved you a few times to keep that from getting too bad."

Mai looped her arms around Spike's neck, and he reclined backwards to pull her forward. She rested her head on his shoulder a bit before straightening up. "Sorry about that. Apparently that takes a lot more energy than I've got at the moment."

"You're awfully soft." His implication was two-fold.

Mai's eyes glimmered. "It's only a matter of time…"

"So you've made your decision, then."

"We both know that I shouldn't be here right now, Spike."

Her voice was biting; there was the earthen firecracker he missed.

"Isn't that my line?"

She laughed. "Usually." She winced as she spoke, her new sitting position pulling at muscles she hadn't used previously.

She could feel her wrappings pull, and Spike could see the blood staining the once-white cloth.

She needed fresh bandages.

Just his luck: Roy was gone, and Faye was pulling a Faye and keeping her distance.

Damn Dashing Fox.

"I think I need fresh gauze," Mai said as she winced.

"Seems like it."

He looked around the room in search of something to aid his situation. Spotting a rolling bed tray, he stood and retrieved the item and a pillow. Dropping the pillow onto the tray, he rolled it to Mai so that it faced her.

"Lean forward."

She complied and unbuttoned her gown. She crossed her arms on top of the pillow and rested her head. "That was thoughtful of you."

He offered no response, but took the nearby medical scissors and cut the old bandages free.

"Can I steal a drag?"

He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Should you be smoking?"

"Shouldn't I be?"

Deciding not to argue, he took a deep hit and leaned downward to face her. Nose to nose, the smoke lifted between them ominously. Her breath tickled his cheek as they stared eye to eye.

He pulled the cigarette from his lips, placed it between hers, and stood to complete his original task.

"Tastes like whiskey."

He remained silent as he pulled the fallen bandages from around Mai's stomach.

She inhaled slowly so as not to agitate her lung; coughing would be unwise.

"You should let it breathe."

He sat back down to light himself another cigarette.

"Probably. Surprised these suckers haven't healed, yet," she commented. She looked over at Spike as she sat up and pushed the tray aside; pulling her gown back to her shoulders, she raised an eyebrow to him. "You're nervous."

He blinked at her. "Nah."

"It's all over your body language, plain as day. You and Roy speak louder with your bodies than you do your mouths, just in different ways."

Her wording was deliberate.

And Spike wasn't an idiot.

"So why did you do it?"

"Because he wakes me from the dream." Mai always knew exactly what he meant.

He offered her another eyebrow raise, another question.

"Spike, it's not like you to deal in hypotheticals. You're too calculated for that."

Silence.

"But if you must know," she took a pause to return his joint to him.

He hadn't noticed that he finished his.

He took it, half-confused, half-curious, and inhaled deeply.

"Strawberry," she finished. "Though, right now it probably tastes like who-knows-what, because I seriously doubt anyone's brushed my teeth the last few months."

"Faye has." He smirked at her. "You know, she's usually the blunt one."

"She's cryptic her own style."

And they lingered in silence and smoke.

Faye punched and kicked and twirled again, this time with more fervor and anxiety than before.

"Didn't you do your kata already?" a voice asked behind her.

Faye wasn't in the mood.

Just like the lunkhead to be back earlier than expected.

"Maybe."

"Pent up frustration?" he asked casually.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I see why she likes you."

Faye rolled her eyes. "You know-"

"Thank you, Faye," he interrupted.

She stopped mid-punch. "Excuse me?"

Roy walked forward to stand next to her, lighting a Mai-brand cigarette leisurely before ambling forward to lean against the railing.

She gave up her practicing in favor of joining Roy.

She had been practicing on the Bebop.

Spike's old spot.

"I said thank you."

"For what?" She followed his lead and lit her own joint.

"For Mai."

Two words, and Faye knew everything they meant. For keeping Mai together when he couldn't, for supporting Mai when she was weak, for caring for Mai, for nursing Mai, for loving Mai in some strange way beyond sisterhood and just short of soul mate.

Faye was considering telling him of Mai's awakening for a split-second, but the last response sent her back into her fit. "Well, I didn't do it for you."

"And that's why I'm thanking you. You did it for her."

"And now you expect me to sit back and watch her walk into her own twisted fate."

"She'll do it of her own volition, Faye."

"But Rin-"

"And Rin has a right to live, too."

Faye pouted.

Damn Spiegels.

She was damn near sure she hated each and every one of them.

"You're so damn difficult," she finally muttered.

"Yeah. A real lunkhead," he agreed.

"She deserves better."

"She does."

Faye scoffed. "So why?"

"Because even Mai would make the choice," he answered solemnly. "She's just unlucky for it."

"Luck? Seriously? That's the best explanation you have?" Faye was exasperated.

"You tell me; you're Lady Luck in the flesh."

Faye snorted. "Hardly."

"Always unscathed, alive, and a winner."

"Spike's alive. Every time."

"Hardly unscathed. He gets beat to hell in the process. You, missie, stay flawlessly healthy."

"What are you getting at?"  
He shrugged and flicked the remains of his second cigarette from his fingers. "Just making an observation."

Faye was not convinced. "Jet and Rose make it by just fine. Are they lucky, too?"

"People like Jet and Rose make their own luck. Karmically lucky. They put good into the world, so they get goodness back." He exhaled a ring of smoke. "You, on the other hand, are lucky for the sake of it. You may not win with the ponies or the slots, but fate gives you the luck you need to keep on living in this lawless universe. Cosmically lucky. If you ask me, that's a better ticket than karmic luck; it works because you will it so."

She had never thought of it that way.

Cosmically lucky.

Damn.

"So that's it, then. Mai has to meet her fate, luck or no luck."

"Precisely."

Faye sighed, resigned to the truth she couldn't bear. "She's awake, you know."

He turned to face her. "I'll have to see her then. No sense in squandering time."

He pivoted to leave.

"Hey Roy?"

"Yeah?"

"What'll happen? In the end?"

He answered without turning, his face to the ground and his shoulders heavy. "You'll live happily-ever-after, pixie, the way that the Great Spirit intends you to."

"And Spike?"

Roy laughed. "I don't think Lady Luck has it in her eyes to let him die any time soon."

As he passed the threshold of the room, he left one final thought. "I much rather have the cosmos on my side, than karma. It's not often frozen fairies get second chances, now, is it?"

And Faye lingered in sweat and silence.

"So, Spike."

"Yeah?"

"What do you intend to do? In the end?"

Spike blinked at her. He stood from his leaning position against the wall to open the cabinet near Mai's bed. Pulling out fresh bandages, he offered his response. "Find my reason to live, I guess."

"Oh?"

He shrugged as he sat on the edge of the bed, unraveling the roll of bandages in his thin fingers. "Dead men need reasons to live."

"Hardly dead."

"Hardly living," he countered.

She blinked before laughing. "You're blaming me for saving you."

He wrapped her torso slowly, his fingers working deliberately to remember the dragon. "I guess I feel cheated."

His words were heavier than they sounded.

"Don't blame me. I didn't know whether or not you'd survive. You fought the fight to live again, so really, you should be wondering why you cheated yourself from death."

"Or cheated myself out of life."

"So which was it?"

He said nothing, but finished re-bandaging her back.

Mai sat straight to see him more clearly. "Well?"

He let out a resigned "heh" and stood. "For once, it was just my luck."

"And what made you so damn lucky?"

He stretched his arms above his head and avoided her gaze. "A woman."

Mai laughed, her earthen timbre back in full-force. "Always a woman with you Spiegel boys."

Spike walked towards the door.

"Lady Luck isn't done with you yet, huh?"

Without turning to face her, he offered his resolved response. "Seems that way, doesn't it, sis?"

And he left the room without a second thought.

He walked purposely.

"Get yours," Spike commented as Roy passed him.

Roy grinned. "I missed her."

Spike pushed his hands into his pockets and headed towards the Bebop.

Some physical exertion would get his mind off things.

Faye was still practicing.

Spike said nothing as he eyed her and stripped to his sweatpants.

He walked to Faye and proceeded to practice on his own. The same motions, but in his style.

Faye frowned as frustration took her. She furrowed her brow and concentrated on her motions. "I'm off."

She was filling the unbearable silence with anything words she could.

Spike glanced at her to observe her kick again. "By a hair."

"I can feel it. My weight is off on my left foot when I pull my right one up to kick. I'm leaning too far right."

Spike put a hand to her shoulder and twisted her slightly. "You're not relaxing."

Filling the silence betrayed her.

This was even heavier air.

Spike moved a hand to her hip to shift her stance.

Her breath hitched.

"Stop tensing."

"You make that damn difficult."

He said nothing but moved his hand from her shoulder to slide it down her arm. He stopped at her wrist, lightly pulled her arm further from her torso, and repeated his previous sentiments. "You're balance is off because you're tense."

He didn't acknowledge her remark.

She balled her hand, the one he was practically holding, and moved her arm forward to change positions.

She twisted out of his grasp, his hand remaining on her hip.

She tensed again.

He frowned and spoke, the cigarette in his mouth dangling from the edge of his lips. "Faye."

"Spike," she leveled.

He removed his hand and shrugged, deciding to take the high ground.

He started his kicks and punches again.

Faye watched him.

Confusion.

When he was done, Faye was still staring.

He raised an eyebrow to her. "Something wrong?"

"Why are you alive?" she blurted.

He raised an eyebrow to her, but continued his actions. "Is that really what you want to ask, Faye?"

She put her hands on her hips and leaned towards his face, annoyance clear in her eyes. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want an answer."

He smirked. "Fine. I told you I wasn't going there to die."

"Yeah."

His smirk grew as he rested on his feet. He turned exit, deciding that his training was no longer necessary.

"That didn't answer my question," she yelled to his retreating figure.

He stopped at the door and glanced over his shoulder, his profile prominent and firm. "Ask again, Faye."

She frowned, but persisted. "Why are you alive?"

He closed his eyes momentarily. "I was going there to see if I was alive." He paused to light a cigarette. After a puff, he faced the door, and as he crossed the threshold, he finished his answer. "And I suppose Lady Luck decided I was."


	26. 26: Spy (On the Run)

A/N: The first portion of this chapter was the original Chapter 25. I rewrote some lines and removed a few in order to meld it in with the original Chapter 26.

Enjoy!

**Bebop Blues**

Chapter 26 – Spy: On the Run

She ran down the corridor, her earpiece buzzing with static. Her glock was in both hands as her heels clacked on the floor.

She heard the footsteps down the hall.

She had memorized these blueprints.

Twenty more feet.

Door.

She slid in and waited as a guard ran past her to find the disturbance she left in her wake.

To throw him off her trail.

"Pixie, you copy?" the voice in her ear asked.

"Roger that, Songbird."

"Pup and I just split; Tiger is on his way to the console room."

"Why the hell am I Pup?" a male voice chimed in.

"Spike's a dog's name, but Jet is Dog," Songbird answered.

"This is ridiculous, Mai," Spike tried again.

"Shush," she answered.

Faye rolled her eyes. So much for a stealth mission; Mai and Spike bickered like actual siblings.

"Faye, I'm at the console room; your turn," came Roy's voice.

"On it."

She waited and glanced at her watch.

Perfect.

She dashed down the hallway.

It had been two months since Mai had woken up.

Two grueling months of awkwardness and rehabilitation.

Faye was still bothered by Mai's recovery. She felt that she needed to rest another month.

The burn on her face never healed properly.

As if some divine power sought to ridicule her further, the burn had healed into a scar that bore a striking resemblance to a dragon curled around her mechanical eye.

Faye hadn't seen the one on her back.

She suspected it was quite a sight.

Mai and Roy hadn't left each other's vicinity much during the last two months, and Faye was back to sleeping alone.

She hated it.

She had managed to coax Mai into a few smoking sessions and one or two drinks.

But Mai remained distant.

She actually suspected that it was her own doing to blame, as she felt terrible for not telling Mai the truth.

Secrets weren't the intention.

It was just hard to discuss.

The weight of it all was daunting.

The lack of Mai in Faye's presence made Spike more available instead.

And he was much more agreeable than usual.

Thus, the vicious dynamic changed again.

Faye slid into the console room.

Roy was already typing away at the panels.

"Hm..." He frowned as he furrowed his brow.

"What? The Mighty Roy can't hack it?"

"For starters, it's Psychedelic Roy, and secondly, it's a decoy."

"That's your hacking name?" Faye looked at him incredulously.

"We need to find the real console."

"Down my hall," Mai answered. "I'm here right now; try Corridor 5, Holding Room B."

Without a response, Faye and Roy dashed for Mai's location.

They stealthily strode down each hallway, flattening against walls, dipping into empty rooms, and pressing against the corners of the floor when necessary.

They hadn't planned for a decoy.

Their memorization of floor plans and schedules was put to good use, however, as guards and sentries passed them without taking notice.

At last they reached Mai's room.

"Always late," a smooth voice commented from beside them.

"Can it, Lunkhead," Faye interjected.

Spike exhaled his cigarette in Faye's face, and she choked back a cough.

"Cancer sticks," she muttered under her breath.

She lit up a joint.

Roy was next to Mai at the console; they seemed so incredibly close, but distant all at once. Mai eyed his fingers with interest and a hint of excitement. He clicked and tapped fervently.

Spike dropped the remains of his cigarette and twisted his foot over the ash. Without a word or warning, he pulled Faye's out of her hand and stole a drag.

"Hey!"

He said nothing.

"What's your issue?" Faye asked as she swiped her cigarette back.

"Same old, same old," he replied.

Faye groaned and turned to face Mai.

Roy had an arm around her as his other hand tapped the screen some more.

Mai looked concerned.

Roy spun her to face him and kissed her deeply.

Faye blinked before blushing a bit.

"Two hours," he said as he pulled back.

Mai frowned. "That's cutting it close."

"That's what we've got," he responded.

"Two hours for what?" Spike asked.

He had a fresh cannabis cigarette in his mouth.

"Until the whole system reroutes the electricity, and the detonation sequence starts; the rerouted electricity will cause an explosion at the end of the sequence," Roy answered, lighting a joint of his own.

"And how long does the sequence last?" Faye asked.

"You two know the plan from there." Mai nodded at each of them.

Faye and Spike nodded in return.

"Spike, Mai, you two head after Victor. Faye and I will get Rin; from there, Jet and Rose will cover us so we can make a quick escape through the entrance."

Faye found the pairings odd.

Mai seemed unperturbed.

"Roger that," Mai responded.

"Sync your coms," Roy instructed.

They exited the console room.

Two hours.

Seven minutes.

Spike and Mai dashed down the hall.

The time for stealth was over.

This was the final battle.

The last push.

They were lucky to encounter no one as they made their way to Victor's presumed location.

Roy and Faye were not so lucky.

No sooner had they turned the corner to their first hallway did someone spot them.

Roy silenced him quickly.

But the commotion brought more men their way, and Faye fired over her shoulder to keep them at bay.

They dove into a nearby storage closet as they turned another corner. The men ran past the door.

"What's your end game?" Faye asked him as they exited the closet and took off down the hall again.

"What?"

"Why me? Why not Mai?"

"You know that answer."

"Then why not Spike?"

"Because she needs a Spiegel."

Faye groaned. "So I'm useless to you."

"No. Mai can't fight him with you there. She'd be too busy worrying about you."

"Why haven't you told her, then."

He grew silent as they continued their trek.

"Out with it."

"Because you and I both know that Mai is a dead woman walking. It's her or Rin, and I know the choice she'd make. I can't put that pressure on her."

He paused solemnly before adding with near silence, "I can't bear that weight."

"You're an idiot." Faye was growing angrier and angrier. "Keeping that from her! She'll die here, and you know that. This entire mission is a suicide plot for her."

"Then why didn't you tell her, Faye?"

That hurt.

Because she couldn't tell her.

Because it wasn't her place.

Spike and Mai were less frustrated with each other than Faye and Roy.

As Mai led the way, Spike hovered behind her soundlessly.

The lack of adversaries made them uneasy.

There should have been an army after them.

"Who's Rin?" Mai asked.

She hadn't gotten an answer in all these months.

Though she hadn't remembered the episode of her brief awakening after the explosion on the Bebop, Rin was built into the plan against Victor.

All she knew was that Rin could pry the gem apart and turn it into whatever liquid it truly was and cure the world of old age.

That bothered her.

She needed more than that.

"A girl."

Mai groaned. "Cryptic."

He raised an eyebrow.

He promptly slammed into her.

"The hell?"

"Something's not right," she stated flatly. "Why hasn't Victor sent anybody after us?"

Spike had wondered that, too. Her unease mirrored his.

Her eye began to whir.

He spun her to face him and pushed her against the wall.

His fake eye pierced hers. It was still moving and vibrating in its socket.

His hand was on the wall above her head as she peered up at him.

"It's all just a dream, Mai."

He stared at her intently.

She blinked, but did not move.

He was uncomfortably close.

"So what can you remember?" he asked.

Her eyes went wide.

The fake one rotated again.

He pulled back and led the way with a slow walk, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched, and his cigarette nearly spent.

He knew now that Victor wanted them to find him.

He had some kind of plan for Mai.

They strode in silence, smoke wafting between them ominously.

Mai was nearly broken.

It was apparent.

The normal wall of enigmatic confidence was slowly decaying and crumbling into remnants of hazy memories.

She was a dead woman running.

Spike signed lightly.

He preferred the cryptic, killer Mai.

Not the ghost.

She slammed into him this time.

He hadn't realized he stopped.

"Buck up, Miss Dragon," he commented dryly.

She gave a weak chuckle. "I'm not sure that I can."

She gripped the back of his jacket childishly.

She seemed all the short stature she was at that moment.

Small, meek, and burdened.

"I remember, Spike."

His eyes went wide.

"Spike! Mai! We've got a problem!"

Faye's voice was loud and clear over their earpieces.

Back to reality.

Spike was thankfully for Faye's timing.

"What's up?" Mai asked concernedly.

"Victor's got Roy."

Red.

"Where are you?" Spike asked, trying his damnedest to keep Mai's vision clear.

"I'm headed your way." Mai snarled her response.

She bolted towards the incoming footsteps and nearly ran into Faye.

Faye looked flustered. She was heaving and panting, and the metal of her glock was hot.

"Mai!" Faye exclaimed.

"Where is the bastard?" she responded.

Her eyes were narrow slits.

Faye's mouth went taut. "Cool it."

Spike was about to make some snappy comeback about taming dragons, but Mai seemed to instantly relax.

"Yeah. You're right," she answered.

Her confidence pulled forward. She walked with her head high and her shoulders back as they headed towards Victor again.

"What about Rin?" Mai asked.

Faye bit her lip. "It's complicated."

Mai raised an eyebrow.

"If we don't have Roy, we can't get Rin," Spike answered matter-of-factly.

"Well-" but Mai was interrupted by the sight that came into view as they turned the corner.

A bloodied Roy lay strewn across the floor.

Barely conscious.

Barely breathing.

As they ran to him, his wounds took full shape.

Gaping cuts and slashes.

A bullet hole or two through his thigh.

They barely missed his femoral artery.

Gashes in his torso.

Slices in his arms.

A streak across his face.

But he was breathing.

He choked back blood as Mai leaned over him.

He was cradling something.

Mai pulled him up and held his back straight.

He coughed again.

The bundle in his arm wriggled.

"I got him pretty good, Mai," he said with a smirk. "Rin survived without a scratch."

Mai frowned at him.

The bundle moved again.

"Roy, why have you been gone all this time?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

Faye and Spike stared.

Spike in disappointment.

Faye in disbelief.

Roy smirked again. "Because when you see Rin, Mai, you'll lose yourself."

But before she could ask:

Bang.

The world went black.


	27. 27: Odd Ones

**Bebop Blues******

**Chapter 27: Odd Ones****  
**

Mai roused quickly.

Faye and Spike were by her side; Spike was already on his feet.

Roy and the mystery bundle were gone.

"The fuck?" she yelled.

"Bastard likes his explosives," Spike commented, rubbing his head. He outstretched a hand to help up Faye, who refused and took Mai's hand instead.

Their coms sounded.

"You want to see what all the commotion's about, my little dragon?" Victor's voice purred.

"Spike! Faye! Everything alright? We lost contact for a second there," Jet's voice was frantic and laced with static.

Shock grenade.

"We're fine! Roy and Rin are gone," Faye answered.

Mai felt distinctly out of place.

"We need to find Victor," she stated.

Faye and Spike nodded at her.

They ran towards the console room again.

They had never expected the Silver Snake Syndicate base to be so large.

Victor had been banking on that.

Men dashed after them as they rounded the corner.

Nameless, faceless drones without souls.

The bottom of the barrel of the universe's lowest scum.

Not too many people dabbled in Syndicate work these days.

Not when Syndicate members of old were being offed left and right.

These men, then, were criminals, bounties, and outlaws. They were low-life thugs trying to make a final mark in criminal history.

They had some sort of death wish.

They reached the console room quickly.

And the battle that ensued was unexpected.

Faye took shots with liberty, and Spike did the same.

But Mai felt distinctly out of place.

She watched the two of them shoot and fight, the way their guns synced direction, the flow of their wrists as the punched, the speed of their legs as they swung their kicks.

The men hadn't noticed her.

She had been the last to walk into the room.

But by the time she was a figure of attention, Faye was at her side, kicking and punching and shooting with precision.

A jive of her own.

Spike smirked a bit when he would observe Faye.

And Mai felt as though she were breaching something intimate.

As though Spike and Faye were practically dancing that timeless waltz right in front of her very eyes.

As the last man fell, Victor's face appeared ominously on the console projector screen.

"Pixie, I'll make you a deal."

Faye's expression changed instantly. "It's Faye," she chastised.

"I'll give you Rin, but you leave the Spiegel brood behind."

"And Roy?" Mai asked.

"He's alive. I won't kill you," he answered.

"And we can believe you...?" Mai's question sounded irritated.

But Faye was already running to the coordinates Victor had sent.

And Spike yanked Mai's wrist to run after her.

They were nearly caught up.

Bang.


	28. 28: See You, Space Cowboy

_A/N: I want to take a moment to thank each and every reviewer. The end is approaching, and never in my life did I think I would ever hit 100 reviews. This chapter is near and dear to my heart, and it was by far one of the most emotional writing experiences I've had. The next two chapters are also of the same caliber in that regard. Two more chapters after this. Enjoy._

**Bebop Blues**

**Chapter 28: ****See You Space Cowboy**

Humming.

Or maybe that was the ringing and pain in her ears.

No.

That was a distinctively male hum.

Smooth, like water.

Not the pulsating thrum she was accustomed to hearing.

This hum was different.

She was used to deep, blue waves of comfort and solace.

These were dark green, pulsing waves of resolve.

Resolution of self.

Some song of finality for the dead walking.

She opened her mouth to speak and coughed.

Gagged really.

Whatever had knocked her out had done quite the number on her throat.

She could taste the blood in her mouth like copper coins beneath her tongue for the boatman.

But she wasn't there just yet.

She'd keep her coins for the time being.

"You're up," the hummer replied.

"Spike…" she commented weakly, though she was unsure whether or not she had actually spoken.

She could feel him pressed against her back, cool metal on her wrists and a lump on her head.

"Turns out that Victor's a better shot than he is a swordsman."

She suspected he would be smoking if he could.

"Faye escaped."

Mai coughed as she tried to speak again.

"He patched you up after he shot you. Right through the throat. Barely missed your jugular."

Maybe she couldn't speak.

And coughing and gagging hurt so damn bad.

"Faye ran past him as he shot. Didn't even see him turn from the darkness."

"She's the luckiest one of all," Mai commented.

Scratched and broken. Her voice had been dead since the explosion on Victor's ship, but now it was laced with sorrow and defeat.

It was Earth shattered like the Moon.

Spike was waxing poetic again.

"Least you can still talk."

"And breathe." Her vision was almost back to full now, and she suspected that the lump on the back of her head was the result of her hitting the floor from the impact of the bullet. "How did he get you?"

Spike let out a solitary chuckle. "Paralysis gas, the damn coward."

"He always was."

"So what do you know, Mai?"

She let out a chuckle this time, and a singular tear fell from her eye (the real one) to her lap. The question was heavier than it appeared.

It felt ironic.

There were bars between them, but they were handcuffed back to back.

Her legs were curled to her side; his were splayed in front of him. A few feet to her left (his right), were more bars.

Such an ancient prison for the forward thinkers.

"He was overshadowed by Vicious for a reason."

Her voice was nearly normal.

Still broken. The volume was inconsistent, as though it were barely a voice at all, more the wind whipping at Spike's ears.

"Got a light?" he asked.

She laughed. Truly laughed. Her eyes and voice were even briefly bright. "And how do you suppose you'll be able to smoke?"

She could see his reflection in the mirror ahead of her; it showed the mirror in front of him.

Victor was such the arrogant asshole; he wanted his victims to see the pain in each other.

Spike leaned forward to grab a cigarette from the floor.

With his teeth.

"My mouth's just as a useful as my hands."

She laughed again. If she didn't know Spike (or Faye, for that matter), she'd swear he was flirting.

"Still can't light it."

"The oral fixation is good enough."

She raised an eyebrow before laughing again.

"You can't fool me, Mai," he replied.

His voice was deadly serious.

She sobered and looked to the ground in front of her, a wistful smile on her lips. "I know."

"You were supposed to die on Mars, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Then all this laughing is you trying to fill these last few hours with something other than pain," he answered.

She had never expected a straight comment from Spike.

He was always indirect.

"You're right. I don't fool you at all." She leaned her head back, his bushy hair pushing at her from between the thick bars.

She began humming her tune.

And somehow, the Earth was whole again.

"What song is that?" he finally asked when she was done humming.

"Home," she answered cryptically, "but you'll know when they play it at my funeral."

"You'll live forever, Mai."

"No, because Rin will."

He froze a moment, but regained composure quickly.

"So you know," he commented.

"All I know is that if I come into contact with Rin, my death is imminent. I also know that Rin is the only person who could keep me alive."

"If you know all that, then why be selfless?"

"You tell me."

He blinked.

He couldn't tell if she was bluffing.

If she knew, truly knew, or just had some sort of resolve to pry the answer from him.

"Something in the way she's named attracts me like no other mother," Mai sing-songed.

"Hm," he stalled.

"I have some crazy notion that I need to protect her."

"You know Rin is a her?"

Mai coughed and gagged again.

Spike leaned his head back this time, gingerly so as not to hurt her further. "Tell me Mai, what do you know? Roy isn't the only one with secrets."

She smirked. "Victor wanted to marry me. Become leader of the Syndicate, sleep and bargain his way into the circle of elders and rule with a loose cannon of a fist."

Spike waited patiently for the telling of her tale; he could really use a light.

"So, imagine his anger when I run off and elope with Roy."

"Mao approved?"

"Of course. He even encouraged we elope. Annie was a witness…" Mai said softly.

Spike offered silence in respect.

"Victor's been bitter, but Vicious, well, he was a whole other animal."

Spike said nothing.

"Victor took a backseat to Vicious. He would have even followed him to Titan if he had been old enough. Victor went rogue from the Syndicate pretty darn quick after I was named "Mai Spiegel." He started hiring out ex-cons and outside Syndicate goons to keep Roy and me on our toes."

Spike remained stoic.

He really needed a light.

"Victor isn't out to restart the Syndicate. He's out to destroy it. He's out to remove any history of my father's legacy from this galaxy, myself included. He's a boy after revenge, not a man out for self-actualization."

Spike opened his mouth to interject.

"As twisted and disillusioned as that self-actualization may actually seem, Spike, Vicious was still seeking it. A man, not a boy," she answered firmly.

"What else do you know, Mai?"

"That Roy's kept his distance in order to protect that legacy."

"Sounds a bit selfish, don't you think?"

"Rin's a part of this legacy, too. If she can synthesize that damned stone, she's got something in her that scientists for years haven't."

"But don't you have it in you?"

She smirked. "So that's how it is, then." She paused thoughtfully before continuing. "Now it's your turn, Spike. What do you know?"

"I know that the reason why you're so opposed to Rose's cause is because you've taken that route."

"It can't cure the living, and it can't revive the dead."

"But you saved a piece for yourself," he commented dryly.  
She smirked. "I did, but it turns my methods were pretty damn crude," she closed her eyes solemnly, "and dangerous."

"Roy wasn't too happy about that."

"Fake eyes run in the Spiegel family for it."

"Yours is different."

"It still has a trigger. Acts just like yours."

"It doesn't work."

She shrugged. "Guess it's gotta' be Roy."

He chuckled at her and shifted slightly.

The cement wasn't the comfiest of seats.

"So, Spike, from what I gather, this trigger has something to do with Rin. When you say it, though, I just freeze or cry."

"Always a damn Spiegel."

"So, Rin is something in this legacy that holds the elixir to life."

"Yeah."

Silence loomed over them as they fell into separate thought.

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"You still haven't told me what you know."

"I'm in love with Faye," he answered without missing a beat.

Mai's lips curled into a wide grin before she laughed, even brighter than before. "You don't know what love is, Spike. You know fleeting glimpses of color in a world of grey. Julia was your butterfly in a flock of moths."

He ignored her and continued. "There was once this tiger striped cat."

"Oh geez."

"This cat died a million deaths, revived and lived a million lives, and he was owned by various people who he really didn't care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat which meant he was free. He met a white female cat and the two of them spent their days together happily. Well, years passed and the white cat grew weak and died of old age. The tiger-striped cat cried a million times, and then he died too."

"He thought he wouldn't come back this time, huh?"

"Well, he was good and dead for a while, but then he found himself amidst the dragon's den. She showed the cat how to live for himself, without the female cat, except this dragon had a secret. It turns out that this tiger-striped cat wasn't a stray, and his litter was pretty keen on the dragon, too."

"Sounds about right."

"Well, the dragon flew, and the cat chased her for a while, but he soon found that she had taken company of another tiger-striped cat. A female one."

"She is a tigress, after all."

"And the boy cat didn't like that. He liked the dragon, you know. Really dug her."

"You like a woman that can kick your ass."

"But as the tiger-striped cat spent more time with the female cat and dragon, he realized that he didn't hate the cat so much."

"But you hate cats."

"The dragon made the cat a dragon of he own right. She didn't need anyone but herself, and if tolerance can foster into love and if this is the only life I've got then, I've gotta' amount it to something and stop pushing her out. Frozen fairies are hard to come by these days," he finished.

Yeah.

He wished he had never opened his mouth.

He wished he had a cigarette.

"So, you admit you like the shrew. You admit you care. Tigers do well together, but they're solitary creatures."

"Something like that."

"Your secret is safe with me. I won't tarnish your hard-ass reputation by revealing to the world that the great Spike Spiegel," she paused, "I mean, tiger-striped cat, has feelings. Though, considering the fit you had with Elizabeth after that conversation, I can't say I'm surprised."

"You heard that, huh?"  
"I would have ripped her to shreds first if we hadn't been trying to stick to the plan."

They grew silent.

"So, you may not be in love, but when did you realize you gave a damn?"

"Somewhere between realizing you two showered together and the run-in with Victor on Io."

Mai paused to process his explanation and burst into laughter. "Jealous?"

"Confused as to why I cared," he shrugged.

Mai laughed some more, and Spike grew irritated. "Hey, still trying to figure you two out."

"Easy answer. I'm you."

"Funny."

"Seriously, Spike. Name a parallel we don't have."

"You're married."

"Fine."

"Why the sudden autobiography, Mai?"

There were footsteps approaching.

"I should ask you the same thing."

"You just asked me to tell you what I knew."

"As did you. Just think of this as my self-eulogy, some unsung elegy of my death to be."

Two figure at the bars to their side.

"Do you really want to know what I know, Mai?"

They were both staring at the people at the bars.

The woman was holding the bundle.

Victor had his gun to her back.

"What do you know, Spike?" Mai asked.

They stood from the floor, back to back as Victor and the woman stepped forward into Mai's cell slowly.

The woman unwrapped the bundle and held it in front of Mai's face, daintily as though it were delicate.

Mai's eyes went wide.

The mechanical one whirred to life.

Spike spoke.

"A dragon's gem is none for hoarding."


	29. 29: Gotta' Knock a Little Harder

_**A/N: **__Here we are. The near-end. One more chapter after this. Are you as sad as I am to see it end?_

**Bebop Blues******

**Session 29: Gotta' Knock a Little Harder****  
**

Faye unwrapped the bundle and Spike said his piece (always a damn Spiegel); they knew that Victor was inches away from death.

Don't come between a dragon and her brood.

Roy didn't have to be the one to trigger the memory.

Bonds of blood are just as thick.

Or thicker.

Spike's back was met with the harsh force of being yanked towards Mai's cell against the bars.

If he hadn't been anticipating it, he may have cursed.

The handcuffs cracked, and a brighter red never glistened in Mai's vision.

Victor had assumed that the sight of Rin would cause Mai some sort of fatal reaction.

He just didn't expect it to be his.

Faye held the bundle, all grey eyes and green hair (recessive in the Spiegel family, it seemed), to her chest as she knelt forward and rolled strategically to the front of the cell.

With one arm free, Mai took hold of Victor's gun and pulled it upwards.

Faye held Rin close to shield her ears.

The shot ricocheted from the cement ceiling and against various bars.

Right into Mai's thigh.

But she didn't notice.

With one wrist still handcuffed to Spike, she knelt to the ground and swung her bad leg.

He ran.

Faye tripped him with her body at the doorway.

Mai faced him, Spike following suit.

"3," she said.

"2," he counted.

"1," Faye finished.

"Let's jam." In sync, Mai and Spike yanked their arms forward, the handcuff breaking from the force against the bars.

Faye was scrambling to Spike's cell to open the door.

Mai was scrambling to deal with Victor.

She was more alive than she had been in the entirety of them knowing her.

And she had never fought so perfectly.

Before this, she was water.

And her jive made her a dragon.

But now she was one and the same.

As she chopped and kicked, swung and spun, it took all of Victor's efforts to dodge.

She was attacking, pushing him backwards.

The narrow hallway meant she couldn't slip behind him.

He was practically running backwards, but Mai wouldn't have it.

Faye and Spike were close at hand now.

Spike jumped to grab the bar above them and swung over Victor's head.

Cornered.

Mai growled and hissed.

Victor grinned from the edge of his mouth. "Feisty, aren't we, Mai?"

He dropped.

Through the floor.

Spike reached for him before he could fall down the chute, but he was already gone.

"Dammit!" Spike groaned.

Bullets flew around them.  
Faye hit the floor, dashing forward on crouched knees, Rin against her chest. The child was blinking in wonder.

Barely a year old.

Too young to witness the wrath of men.

Mai was already making a dash for the exit, the lump on her head throbbing and the wound in her leg gushing. Her vision blurred in and out as she ran towards the shooters.

It took one roundhouse kick.

Home free.

"Jet! We need stairs!" she yelled over her com.

This wasn't a section of the facility they had memorized.

"This way!" Rose was down the adjacent hallway to their left.

The Desert Flower was done with snakes.

"You up for this?" Faye asked.

They paused to catch their breath.

Mai finally focused into sanity.

She stared at Faye. Rin. Faye. Rin again.

"Rin..." she whispered. "Rin May Spiegel..."

The name, though foreign, felt familiar on her tongue, like warm honey. It filled her with a subtle joy and a comforting sense of home.

Home she had not thought of since she woke alone.

She reached for the bundle.

"Mai..." Faye warned, pain and embarrassment mingling with sorrow; it was some silent apology.

"I know..." Mai whispered again. "If I touch her..."

Crash.

The brief solitude interrupted, they ran down the stairs.

"Faye, I'll get Rin back to the ship," Rose suggested.

Faye opened her mouth to answer, but bullets began flying again.

One through Rose's stomach.

She hit the ground with a thud and a groan of discomfort.

"Rose!" Faye yelled in unison to Jet.

They looked upwards towards the source of the noise to see the Black Dog taking shots of his own towards the attackers.

He jumped from a story above to meet them in the stairwell, bullets grazing his shoulder as the men from the floors above them gained ground.

"I'm fine," Rose answered as she pulled herself to her knees.

Without hesitation, Jet pulled her to his chest, cradling her against himself protectively.  
His gun was in his real hand as his mechanical one held her close.

"Ed, Ein, and Flora are routing the doors to buy you guys some time. You've got seven minutes before the server changes network addresses again," Jet said in haste. He pulled the rifle slung over his back over his head and handed it to Rose. "Don't want you to miss any good opportunities while we get the hell out of here," he told her. "Watch yourselves," he looked to the trio.

They nodded.

And down the stairs they flew as Jet and Rose made their escape through the door they entered.

Floor.

After floor.

After floor.

There seemed to be no end; traversing the stairs to hell was some journey of denial.

As though they stood some sort of chance against the Silver Snake Syndicate.

Mai stopped periodically to clutch her leg.

The wound was healing quickly.

But the pain was always lingering.

Rin was all eyes and coos.

The throbbing in Mai's head started knocking and grew louder with each step.

Faye's heart sank as she realized the events to unfold.

Each second clicked by like hours stretched to days as she recalled the start of the end: the medical bay.

"_Mai's toxic," Roy said sadly._

"_The hell does that even mean?" Faye yelled._

"_It means that damn gem fucked her DNA."_

_Faye glared intently._

"_She tried to synthesize it herself. She thought she could. She's always been a bit of a chemist. She managed to liquefy it and inject it via Red Eye needle, but it wasn't the desired outcome," Roy explained._

"_She's completely against that thing," Faye argued._

"_With good reason. Hindsight is always 20/20."_

"_Why hasn't she told me this?"_

_Roy looked incredibly guilty at this._

"_You hid it from her..." Faye realized._

"_It's more complicated than that." He sighed heavily. "Laughing Bull said she would die on Mars that day, but she decided to change her stars. I laid the tracks for Spike, but despite that, the onslaught left Mai knocking on that damn door she's always been flirting with for too damn long. She was barely alive, and I was doing my damnedest to get her to a hospital." Roy sat up and lit a cigarette despite his injuries. "I picked her up from the church floor, and she smiled up at me. 'Roy, it's all blue; this dream, the door. Blue,' she said. She was fading. She looked up and said 'I think I got it this time...' She reached into her pocket and pulled out her final vial. She had tried this before, and it had left her nearly blind, but her eye recovered. This time, she wasn't so lucky." He exhaled deeply. "Her screams are burned into my head. I knew it was a bad idea to let her try, but I'm selfish. I didn't want to lose her."_

"_Or the baby." Faye finally concluded. The answer had been staring her in the face the entire time. Mai was a mother. "She was pregnant..." she whispered._

"_How did you figure that out?"_

"_The night after she told Jet and me about you, she said there was some lingering feeling that there was something else she was seeking, some life beyond her solitary existence. She looked so sad. It was just cryptic at the time; I thought she was maybe talking about you."_

"_But Mai's the only one who's got everything figured out."_

"_She doesn't if you're hiding it," Faye reasoned. She realized something else as she said this, and her facial expression gave her thoughts away instantly._

"_Yeah, Rin is her daughter," Spike answered. The first words he had spoken the entire conversation, and Faye wanted to smack him._

_Lunkhead._

"_So how does she know everything if you're hiding it?" Faye asked, ignoring Spike completely._

"_I said that damn thing messed with her DNA. Her mind doesn't want to remember. When she does, she'll know why I stayed away, and she'll regret ever finding me."_

"_That doesn't make any sense."_

"_If she comes into contact with Rin, the weight of the memories and the physical reaction to Rin would kill her."_

_Faye went silent._

"_She took that damn dose while she was pregnant, though she didn't know it at the time. Rin ended up being immune. It bred immunity into her. Conversely, it destroyed Mai. Mai has the power to destroy Rin, and Rin has the power to destroy Mai. It's some cursed karmic response to attempting to cheat Fate."_

As the memory faded, so did Faye's ambitions for a successful mission.

A life without her child.

Mai would rather be dead.

That would be no life she would want to live.

And Mai would never want Rin to be without Roy.

So, Mai would have no life with them.

And suddenly it sank in.

Mai's wisdom was death's truth.

She knew how to live because she was already dead.

Spike was angry.

As they ran, he recalled the conversation with Roy over his com so many months ago.

"_You're an uncle."_

"_That's an interesting segue."_

"_Mai doesn't know."_

"_That's even more interesting."_

"_She nearly died. She sealed her fate. She sealed Rin's. She sealed mine."_

"_And you're telling me this...?"_

"_Because you're Rin's godfather."_

"_Thanks for volunteering me."_

"_The main thing to remember is that a dragon's gem is none for hoarding, but I'll tell you the finer details next time I speak to you."_

_Spike new a code phrase when he heard one._

_He heard one earlier, after all._

_Mai's seemed a bit more fine-tuned than his. "Why bother mentioning all this now?"_

"_Because things are set in motion. But whatever happens-"_

"_Happens," Spike finished._

_There was a brief silence of reflection before Roy spoke again._

"_I miss her, you know."_

"_I don't blame you. She's some kind of woman."_

"_Try anything, and I'll kick your ass."_

"_Like she'd bite. She seems hung up on you."_

_You could practically hear Roy's heart breaking. "Yeah..."_

_There was an awkward pause as Roy gathered himself before continuing. "I'd be there if I could, but I've got some business to take care of first."_

"_Whatever you say."_

"_Tell you what, if I kick it, go for it."_

_Spike laughed. "I don't do sloppy seconds."_

"_Hardly sloppy."_

"_Well, if you kick it, Faye will be the next in line."_

_Roy laughed this time. "That the one in the Red Tail? With the purple hair and green eyes?"_

"_You saw?"_

"_I'm a hacker. You think I'd let my wife really fly solo without watching over things? Can't blame her; Faye's a beauty in her own right."_

_Spike grit his teeth. "We done?"_

"_Hit a sore spot?"_

"_Everything about the shrew is a sore spot," Spike mumbled._

_Roy chuckled. "Hold on to that. It's better for you than you think. I'll call when I have an update."_

"_Later."_

_Always a damn Spiegel._

As they ran further to their fate, Spike spat out the remains of his joint long smoked.

"Blue," Mai spoke suddenly.

The duo looked to her; she was running quite a ways in front of them.

"Blue?" Faye asked.

"There's something about blue," Spike supplied.

"Anything but blue," Faye retorted.

"Well, it's always something," Mai answered cryptically.

Ignoring the banter, Spike furrowed his brow in thought.

In another memory.

"_You're a pretty one." Spike's smooth voice melted over her forehead._

_The woman he was speaking to was standing against the brick of the bar's wall in front of him._

_Spike's forearm was flat against the wall as he leaned towards her, his breath on her brow.__  
__Elizabeth wasn't biting._

"_You're not my type," she spat._

_He frowned. "My girlfriend thinks so."_

"_Oh? The pixie?" she asked with a sideways grin._

_Spike's lips pulled taut, and Elizabeth spoke again before he could say anything._

"_A very good friend of mine said I was on the bounty list for today, that a ragtag duo would be after me, and that it probably had a lot to do with my old line of business." She paused thoughtfully and stretched to the tips of her toes so that her lips were nearly against Spike's. "Mercenary, hired out by the Red Dragons on more than one occasion."_

_Spike pulled back and stood straight, his Jericho pressed against the center of Elizabeth's brow._

"_Victor said if I killed the mighty Spike Spiegel, I get to keep the pixie as my prize."_

_He shot._

_She dove._

_And they exchanged fists and feet as they slammed through the bar door._

Back to the present, Spike closed his eyes momentarily. He opened them, determination etching itself into the thins of his pupils.

Victor had been trailing them the entire time.

All of the bounties they had been after were the result of Victor's interference.

His mind swam again.

Another memory.

"_You seek wisdom, Swimming Bird."_

"_I'm looking for a man on Titan."_

"_The guard of the cursed stone, he is not amongst the walkers of this realm any longer."_

_Spike frowned. "Afraid you would say that."_

"_But the desert flower has thorns thicker than that. The silver snake cannot wind himself around her. Hill's Edge is where he bides his fleeting time."_

_Spike said nothing._

"_You best hold onto what you have, Swimming Bird. Very few are granted many lives, and even fewer are granted in all of them a chance for happiness."_

"_I see." Spike turned to leave._

"_Singing Dragon sees only in blue."_

"_Yeah. There's something about that," Spike answered thoughtfully._

"_And Dashing Fox has always been within orbit. The snake may try and wrap himself around her, and he may try to chase you, Swimming Bird, but Dashing Fox is always the true victor."_

_Spike exited the tent._

_Damn._

_Faye._

They were nearly to Victor's door now.

A large blue door.

They knew this was the last opportunity for explanation.

For the truth.

"He's been laying out the bounties," Spike noted, lighting a last cigarette.

"He has, and I've been following them religiously," Mai answered.

Faye said nothing, but cradled Rin against her breast.

The baby said nothing, but blinked at her mother and uncle.

"I don't get it..." Faye admitted weakly.

She seemed tired.

Mai limped towards her, her bad leg nearly cleared of blood.

She stopped in front of Faye, hovering centimeters in front of the bundle. She looked up to peer into Faye's eyes.

"You already know this, but this one is a fake," Mai stated as she pointed to her cybernetic eye. "I lost it defying human nature in that church on Mars. Until recently, I just assumed I lost it in whatever accident put me in the hospital. Now I know that it was my fault. Now I know that Roy watched over me the entire time I was in that first hospital and planted a trigger in this damn thing."

Faye blinked at her, intimidated by her closeness in both vicinity and subconscious.

"He left because of Rin. He changed my hospital to keep me guarded, and he kept Rin safe away from me and this damn curse."

Mai was near her breaking point.

"Victor's been laying out bounties since day one; I know he has, because he's been my connection in finding them to begin with."

Faye's eyes went wide, and Spike suddenly recalled the conversation Mai during his stay at her home.

"_Some lead. You almost got me killed. Yeah, I know he's the big name bounty, and I'm sure I could catch him without a hitch, but I told you I'm not interested in Syndicate hunting. Too risky. Not worth it. I'll talk the lead over with you tomorrow."_

"He heard I was alive, and that's when things went sour," Spike commented.

"You caught me," Mai confessed. "I'd been working with him because the bounties were leading me closer and closer to Roy."

"But why Spike? Why did that make him fly off the edge?" Faye questioned.

"Why tell him you weren't into Syndicate hunting when you knew all those bounties were ex-mercs?" Spike added.

"I didn't know until Morrison. That's when I dug deeper and figured it out. I wasn't privy to all of dad's business, after all."

"So the big name bounties..." Faye started.

"...were all part of Victor's plan to completely dismantle any parts of the Red Dragon Syndicate that remained. That's the real reason he's been after Rin. He figured it would be the quickest way to get me and Roy to the forefront."

"And Spike with you guys," Faye finished.

"He miscalculated, though. He didn't expect me to rope Rose into things. He has a soft spot for his little girl, after all," Mai added.

"But why the gem?" Faye asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Faye? If Victor can crack it, he can rule the crime world without the fear of stepping down. He didn't figure out that Rin was the key..." Spike started.

"...until Roy showed up again," Mai concluded. "He thought Jacobs still had it, so he went to him. When Jacobs wouldn't say where Rose went, he killed him. Simple as that. Rose did a good job staying concealed on Earth, and she did an even better job of shielding Flora. He probably doesn't even know that Flora is sick."

"He's a monster," Faye voiced.

"It runs in his blood. Brethren beasts that live beyond this time, that shouldn't exist, that should have never been: Vicious and Victor," Mai explained.

"So Roy told Victor? About Rin?"

"No. Roy told Victor not to meddle in cursed science; Roy told me that while I was recovering. Victor just put two and two together, though he did have to do some digging to get the whole truth."

"It's time, Mai," Spike said.

They had been standing outside the door for a few minutes, tearing down the lies and questions and rebuilding the truths and facts.

The only questioned that remained was whether or not the stars were right, and Mai Spiegel was destined to die.

They knocked.

_**(Break down the door)**_


	30. 30: Blue

_A/N: I'm doing a few edits to the other chapters for future readers, but nothing is changing. There is a sequel to follow, and then the epilogue for this will be posted. For the record, I am thankful to every reader and reviewer who has stuck with me throughout the posting and course of this story. I appreciate the support and input. Without any further hassle, here is the final session._

**Bebop Blues******

**Session 30: Blue**

"You're late." The snarl sounded impatient. Victor was tired of the chase. The large, ornate clock that stood behind him was a testament to his impatience and self-righteousness.

He was standing in the middle of a cathedral.

In his underground base.  
The smarmy-ass bastard.

"I didn't get the invitation," Mai quipped as she observed the time behind him. "I just decided to turn up out of the blue. Figured I could crash whatever party you were trying to throw." She smirked.

She was a woman whole again, and Spike and Faye were close behind her, pillars of support.

She turned to face them.

All three (and Rin, vicariously) were behind a threshold that would no doubt produce a sliding door the moment they crossed.

"This is my fight."

"But-" Faye began to protest.

"No buts, doll. You two need to get the hell out. I'm entrusting Rin to you.

Faye frowned slightly. "What about Roy?"

Mai gave a solemn smile. "I have a sneaking suspicion that he's about to make his presence known." She smiled as she faced Faye more directly. "I suppose you know what comes next."

"You said you weren't coming here to die," Faye reasoned.

"I'm not. I came here to save you. And Rin. And maybe Roy if I get the chance."

"I'm hurt," Spike said as he gave a halfway grin.

Mai laughed. "You don't need me to save you. You've got someone else for that," she reasoned.

He smiled back. "I know."

Faye blinked.

"Well, huntress, until we meet again. Maybe in another lifetime, things would take a different route." Mai winked before kissing Faye's cheek. She then looked down at Rin. "You'll grow to be strong, little one. You've got two amazing godparents to make sure of that." Resigning to her fate, she kissed Rin's forehead and turned to Spike. "You want a kiss, too, tiger?"

He gave some noise between a sigh of resolve and a laugh of irony. "Take it easy, sis."

She chuckled. "I'm counting on you, Spike." She stood back and stared at him hopefully. "You're gonna' carry that weight."

"No need... I've got someone to lighten the load," he responded, smirking all the while.

Faye blinked.

"I'm tired of good-byes," droned Victor from behind Mai.

"See you, then," Mai directed to Spike.

"And you," he answered.

"Mai..." Faye tried.

"You got this," was Mai's last farewell.

She turned and crossed the threshold.

The metal door slid upwards and bolted.

"Faye, we need to get out of here."  
She was frozen to the spot.

"Faye."

"So that's it..."

"Faye?"

She spun on her heels to face him. "So that's it. We just leave her here to die. It's all over. Just like that. Victor wins..."

He took two steps toward her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Some bitter win, if you ask me. No Syndicate. No stone. No Rin. No Bebop."

"Like hell!" She yelled before she bolted.

He groaned, but chased after her.

Various video screens lined the upper portion of the walls, and though they had paid them no mind before, they were now nearly fixated as they rushed to safety.

They could see Mai and Victor standing opposite one another.

Faye stopped to stare.

Spike nearly ran into her.

"It's nearly your end, isn't it?"

"If that's what the stars ordain." Mai's face was determined and her voice was strong.

"Tell me, do you fear death?"

"How could I? Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us to infinity."

Victor gritted his teeth. "You damn Spiegels and your riddles."

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask, Victor?"

"Why are you still alive?" He rushed towards her, and her left hand caught his arm. Her right hand, quickly armed, pointed her Glock to his chest.

All in one fluid motion.

"Why defy fate and battle for your life, dragon, when you are destined to die?"

She smirked. "I guess I'm stubborn."

He pulled his arm back, and Mai ran past him to the opposite wall of the room.

A bullet flew through Victor's shoulder, and he stumbled as he attempted to chase after Mai.

They both looked to see Roy on the second floor balcony overlooking the room.

Spike and Faye could barely make Roy's figure out on screen.

"Faye, we need to go."

"But Mai..."

"She's with Roy. She'll be fine."

"She'll die happy. That's what you mean." She was getting angry.

"Faye, how much damage do you honestly expect to do while holding a baby?"

She had actually thought about that.

And that was the real reason she hadn't tried to find a way to battle back to Mai and help kill Victor and save the day.

And Mai was right: this wasn't Faye's battle.

"Let's go..." Faye resigned.

Spike nodded, and the two ran down the hallway once more.

The screens continued their showcase.

"Roy!" Mai screamed.

How he was standing, she couldn't fathom.

He was knocking on that door when she saw him last.

But now he appeared to be the spitting image of health.

And it dawned on her.

"We are all victim to the stars, Mai," he answered.

He knew what she was asking.

Her eyes said it all.

"Roy..."

"Touching. A cursed couple that reeks of death," Victor seethed.

"Only as of recent," Roy answered.

Roy had planned the whole thing.

"You knew he'd find Rin..." Mai nearly whispered.

"I had to find Spike first to get everything in motion," he answered.

"So Rin wouldn't be alone," she concluded.

"So, Spiegel, you've got toxic blood, too," Victor grinned. "Both of you are destined to die, then." Gripping his shoulder, he dashed towards Mai.

She side-stepped.

Roy jumped from the balcony and rolled towards them.

Victor swung his katana at Mai, and she leapt backwards to avoid the swing. Given her height and shorter legs, she knew she couldn't keep dodging for long. Victor was built much like his brother with the reach and stride to boot. Mai paused briefly to take a shot at Victor's head, but he was already running towards her.

Her bullet grazed his cheek.

She threw both hands forward, Glock hanging from her thumb, and held his arm. She guided him smoothly to her side and behind her before she swung around and took another shot.

His right arm was now useless as the second shot pierced the ligaments in his shoulder.

The opposite wound was still bleeding freely.

He dropped his sword, turned, and ran towards her again.

Roy caught him this time, a hand grasping Victor's fist and the other pointing the gun to his chest.

Victor was already leaning back to avoid the shot. He hit the ground to kick Roy's legs from underneath him.

As Roy stumbled backwards, Victor pulled his Walther from his belt and chanced a shot in Roy's general direction.

Left-handed disability aside, he still managed to nick Roy's calf.

"You two disgust me," he yelled as he ran towards Mai again.

"You're mad, Victor. Stark, raving mad!" Mai screamed in retaliation. He shot at her and grazed her cheek this time.

Matching battle scars.

He shot.

She shot.

She missed.

He didn't.

Roy watched in horror as Mai fell to the ground, blood pooling around her.

Victor had newfound strength as he pointed his firearm at Roy and lifted Mai by the throat with his other hand.

She was smiling.

"You're a fool, Mai," Victor cooed.

"Oh?" She coughed and blood spurted from her mouth onto the edge of Victor's sleeve. "I think you're the one who's been played for the fool, Victor."

His eyes narrowed. "What game are you playing, dragon?"

Roy laughed this time. "I gotta' say, I didn't see that coming."

He was staring at the clock.

Victor stared at it as well.

He didn't understand why 11:18 was significant.

Faye and Spike were nearly to the doors, sweet sanctuary on the other side.

They had been listening and glancing at the exchange the whole time.

Spike had been picking off Silver Snake thugs as they made their escape.

"Faye! Hurry!" Spike yelled.

"I am!"

"We're out of time!"

"What are you-" but she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.

As the clock struck 11:19, Mai's smirk intensified. "I'll see you in another life, you scumbag." She was barely audible.

Roy shot.

Victor crumpled to the ground.

Roy ran to Mai.

Bang.

Spike dove to Faye and sent them rolling right through the doors as the base exploded and crumbled around them.

He threw his bomber jacket over the tops of their heads as shrapnel flew, and Faye shielded Rin's ears.

The baby still said nothing and nestled into Faye's bosom.

Seven minutes.

Somehow everyone had forgotten.

Aside from Mai.

When the rumbling and dust subsided, Spike stood up. He extended a hand to Faye, and she took it gladly. He started towards the crater, still holding her hand/

"Ow..." She winced as she followed.

Spike raised an eyebrow to her.

"I sprained my ankle in that wonderful, little show of acrobatics back there. I was focused on keeping Rin safe."

Spike knelt to look at her injury. "Sit down."

She frowned, but complied.

He grabbed a short piece of metal (debris from the explosion), ripped part of his sleeve, and wrapped Faye's ankle with the makeshift splint.

He helped her to stand again once he stood and leaned her against him. "I can carry Rin."

She blinked at him, astounded by his thoughtfulness and shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She nodded.

He pulled an arm around her waist, and she pulled one over his shoulder. Her other arm held Rin over her hip as they walked towards the bottom of the crater carefully. Spike braced them against parts of the structure that had remained free-standing, and they were soon to the bottom.

The dust hadn't settled here, and Faye shielded Rin again as they coughed.

A figure came into view.

Two.

One was kneeling over the other.

Faye's eyes watered.

Spike frowned.

"Mai..." they could hear Roy whisper.

They approached him slowly and took notice that his time was nearly gone, too.

He had shielded her from the explosion.

He was in the same position he had been in when protecting her.

Mai smiled weakly. "You know? Faye's right. The Lunkhead gene runs in the family."

Roy leaned slowly over her to kiss her. "Stop that."

"There's something about blue..." she whispered.

"Anything but blue..." Faye cried softly.

"Never seen a bluer sky, have you? Roy?" Mai asked.

He shook his head and slowly sat next to her, leaning back until they were side by side staring at the sky above them. "Freedom, muse. It's freedom."

"Yeah..." she finished. Her head leaned over to his shoulder. "Changed our stars after all, Zen."

"Yeah."

Spike and Faye were nearer to them now.

And as they reached them, Mai said her final piece. "It's real..." Her eyes fluttered shut.

Spike took Rin from Faye before she collapsed next to Roy and started crying.

Roy looked up apologetically. "Hey now. She'd hate to see you cry. Buck up."

His voice was weak.

"It didn't have to-"

"Now Rin gets her chance, you know?"

Faye sobbed louder.

"Go live your dream, pixie." He smiled and closed his eyes to open the door.

Together with Mai.

Spike stood solemn as Faye cried. Jet arrived some time later and stood next to Spike. He looked sadly at Faye as she sat frozen. She was out of tears, but felt hollow.

"You think she'll be alright?" Jet asked.

Spike handed Rin to Jet and remained silent. He walked to Faye, his hands in his pockets, his posture slouched, and a fresh joint in his lips now that there wasn't a baby in his vicinity.

He knelt beside her, pulled an arm around her, and dropped her head to his shoulder.

She began crying again.

"Faye," he said. He didn't feel the need to say anything more. Just her name: to remind her that she was still alive.

She sniffed and hiccupped against him.

He stood slowly after her tears subsided and extended a hand to help her up.

She complied.

They were facing each other, Jet staring at them awkwardly with Rin in his arms.

Spike hugged her close to him, and her sobs started again. He rested his chin on her head as her body shook.

"...go home..."

Her voice was muffled against his shirt.

"What?" he asked.

"I want to go home..." she sniffled.

He squeezed her closer. "You are home, Faye."

She pulled back and stared at him; she had just then realized his comfort.

And his implication.

She opened her mouth to say something, but instead turned heel and walked to Jet.

"I can take Rin," she said.

He blinked at her, looked to the baby he was holding, and looked back to her. Rose had filled him in on the vague details. He handed the child to her.

"Rin May Spiegel," she cooed. She kissed Rin's forehead as she rocked her gently.

"They need a proper funeral," Spike commented as he reached Jet and Faye.

"The Mezzo," Faye answered.

"That'd be fitting, especially since it's stick here on Titan," Jet added.

"Stuck?" Spike questioned.

"The crack in that dome. Doohan doesn't know what material Mai used for it, but he can't replicate it, and normal materials won't work on something transparent at that size. If it breaches the atmosphere again, it'll break completely."

They were silent.

"Whatever it is, it's also what absorbs the radiation that powers the thing. It still works, though. Running water, air conditioning: the works. An oasis in this damn desert," Jet finished as he lit up a joint.  
Faye stepped back to avoid the smoke, but commented, "Thought you didn't approve of those."

"Burning one to pay my respects."

Faye nodded solemnly.

"Well, I think beneath the tree will do right by them," Jet concluded.

Faye looked back at Mai and Roy; they were a picture of peace. She faced the two men again. "I'll see you guys at the Mezzo."

She walked forward towards the Red Tail parked near the edge of the crater.

It was a lucky break that it didn't fall in with the rest of the building.

"She gonna' be alright?" Jet asked, concern in his brow and voice.

Spike watched as she walked away, lighting a joint of his own. "She's tough."

They walked to the resting spot. Jet picked up Roy, and Spike picked up Mai.

Rose called Jet. "Flora and Ed are otherwise distracted. Faye told me everything..." Her voice was shaky.

"Good. They don't need to see this. We'll be back in a few minutes."

Jet transported the fated duo in the Hammerhead, and Spike followed in the Swordfish.

The Mezzo's globe glistened as the sun began to set.

Faye had already dug the graves in front of the large tree, and Rose, despite her injuries, had already made a makeshift headstone from a scrap of metal.

Spike and Jet buried the two, and Faye and Rose secured the headstone above them.

_Here lie the damn Spiegels._

_Miss Dragon and Psychedelic Roy._

_Reunited at last._

Each of them smoked, including Rose, and stared at the grave somberly.

Perhaps the custom was to speak at funerals.

But words couldn't be said to do the occasion justice.

So the Bebop crew remained silent and stoic.

Flora and Ed bounded into the room, Ein at their heels.

"Mama? Why is everyone so sad?" Flora asked as she coughed. She tugged on Rose's skirt.

Before Rose could answer, Ed spoke. "Mai and Roy are no longer with us. They are finally together." Her voice was quiet, and less high-pitched than usual, but she grasped the situation perfectly.

Flora looked to the group. "But then we should be happy, right?" She coughed some more. "They're finally resting; no more running and hiding and being tired of looking for each other," Flora pleaded.

The most insightful thing that could have been said.

Out of the mouths of babes.

Rin shook her rattle softly from her crib near the group.

Roy had brought it aboard before the mission, unbeknownst to Mai.

Flora ventured to the crib and climbed the bars.

"Flora," Rose chastised.

Faye walked to the crib with the intention to lift and hold Rin, but found her sitting to stare at Flora.

Flora blinked at Rin and smiled. "I'm Flora," she said.

Rin smiled back and stuck out a hand to touch Flora's nose.

Flora leaned forward and kissed Rose's forehead. "You must be Rin."

Rin touched her Flora's forehead this time.

Flora blinked and dropped from the crib. She placed a hand at her throat before running to Rose. "Mama…" She was still holding her throat.

"What's wrong?"

Flora tugged on Rose's skirt, and Rose knelt to let Flora whisper in her ear.

Rose blinked, a small smile tugging at her lips. "We'll go check."

Flora turned and waved to the baby Spiegel. "Good night! And thank you!"

Rin just smiled.

Jet leaned over and whispered to Spike. "I'll watch the kid. You take care of Faye."

Spike had never appreciated Jet more than at that moment.

"I got it from here, Faye. You go rest," Jet told her as he started to wheel the crib to the living room.

Faye said nothing.

She hadn't said anything since she left the crater.

Spike stood next to her.

She was at the graves now.

The sun had set, and the stars glittered the sky clearly through the dome as though Faye and

Spike were beneath them directly.

Spike gazed at the night sky.

He looked down when he heard scratching.

Faye was writing something on the headstone beneath Rose's words.

_See you space cowgirl__  
__You're finally home._

He crouched beside her, took the rock from her hand and scribbled a note of his own.

_Suppose it happens._

He put the rock in Faye's hand and guided her to write a final message.

_Free_

"She'd like it," Faye whispered.

"She would."

"Would he?"

Spike looked at it thoughtfully. "It would make Mai happy, so it would make him happy."

"Good."

Spike stretched across the grass next to the fresh graves and stared at the sky above him.

He nudged Faye with his foot where she sat.

She hesitated, but reclined beside him to stare at the sky as well.

He reached down to hold her hand.

She was cold, and she flinched at his touch.

As much as she wanted to bolt, something was holding her captive. She took Spike's cigarette and stole a drag.

Nicotine.

But it felt good.

"So that's it," she finally said.

"I guess so."

He used his free hand to grab his cigarette.

Cherry.

Must be her lip balm.

"We should get to bed, Faye."

"Huh?"

"Bed."

"I don't know."

He blinked and turned his head to look at her. "What's there to know?" He stood up and extended his hands. "Let's get to bed."

The implication hit her again.

Home.

She stood slowly and followed him out of the dome.

He stopped in front of his room. "You alright?"

He didn't turn to face her.

"I hate sleeping alone," she admitted. She had slept alone for four months.

"I won't tell a soul."

He opened the door.

She followed.

"You want to hear a secret, Faye?" he asked as he stripped for bed.

"What?"

He tossed her one of his shirts to wear.

"I hate being alone."

She blinked.

He sat on the edge of bed and eventually leaned to lie down. He rested his tired eyes and placed his forearm against his head.

Faye sat. "What does that mean?"

"It means something," he answered.

"That doesn't explain anything."

"Does it have to?" He opened his eyes to look at her.

She had changed while his eyes were closed.

She pouted, but joined him in lying down anyways.

She stayed at the edge of the bed, her toes hanging off and her nose facing away from him.

He sighed.

In one fluid motion, he looped an arm around her and pulled her next to him, rolling her over to face him.

Her face was in the crook of his neck, and his arm against his forehead shifted so that he could run his index finger lightly over her forehead and hair.

She squeaked.

"That's a new one," he commented to the sound.

She was about to tell him off, but he didn't let her.

"There once was this tiger-striped cat."

She groaned.

"And he met a tigress."

He shifted to his side to face her.

"And he decided he was tired of being alone."

He kissed her.

She squeaked again.

He pulled back. "You gotta' stop that," he said, putting a pinky in his ear and twisting it dramatically.

"Lunkhead!"

"I mean it, Faye." His eyes were dead serious.

"Mean what?"

"I'm not spelling it out for you."

Did he mean she needed to stop it? The squeak?

"You're not making sense," she concluded.

"Life is too short, Faye."

And it hit her.

Spike Spiegel cared about her.

"The hell?" she wondered aloud

He twitched. "I try actually being the nice guy for once and-"

She kissed him this time.

Hard.

Like she needed his very breath to sustain her.

Like she needed to swallow him whole and fill herself with everything that he was.

All calm, cool, collected, green-haired Lunkhead made of water.

And he kissed her back.

Hand on the back of her head, arm snaked round her waist.

And with eyes shut, everything was clearer.

No black and white.

Just blue.

_A/N: I'll let you simmer with that, then._


End file.
